The Council for European Integration, chaired by Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, examined Monday the draft answers to the Questionnaire sent by the European Commission for the preparation of the opinion on Serbia's application for EU membership.

Cvetkovic told the Council that the answers contain an accurate description of the current situation in Serbia, and added that an even bigger challenge will be to improve the situation in accordance with European standards.

The Council commended the efforts taken by the Serbian government, the parliament, judiciary, independent bodies and social partners, who actively participated in the preparation of answers to the Questionnaire and thus contributed to the process being completed on time.

The Council especially welcomed the government decision to include civil society organisations in the process of composing replies to the Questionnaire, thus securing transparency and better understanding of the EU accession process among Serbian citizens.

The Council invited the government to adopt the replies to the Questionnaire as soon as possible and forward them to the European Commission.

The Council also welcomed last week's ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Serbia and the EU and the adoption of a Resolution on Serbia at the European Parliament, and reaffirmed the continuity of the state policy towards Kosovo-Metohija.