Prime Minister Cvetkovic and Justice Minister Snezana Malovic will discuss in Brussels with representatives of the EC and Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding the steps which will be taken in the reform of Serbia's justice system, which is one of the requirements for gaining EU candidate status.

"I expect that after the meeting, the EC officials will have an understanding of all the aspects and the volume of the reforms started to date. The judiciary reform will not be a stumbling block either for candidate status or for EU membership," Malovic said.

Noting that the election of judicial officials is important, but not the only segment of the justice system reform, Malovic said that the EC Directorate-General for Justice and Fundamental Rights will be informed of the readiness of Serbia's Justice Ministry, the High Judicial Council and the State Prosecutors Council to reconsider the decisions made in the general judicial election in Dec 2009 and thereby remove all doubt as to the their validity.

According to her, EC officials will be invited to monitor the continuation of the judiciary reform and activities undertaken in the area. "Since Serbia is still not a membership candidate, the meeting will be of great importance, because we will present the goals, plans and the results achieved in the judiciary reform in the past year, as well as the activities we will start in Sept to remove all doubt as to validity of the judiciary reform," Malovic noted.

Malovic is a member of the delegation which delivered Serbia's response to the EC questionnaire to Brussels. The delegation is headed by Prime Minister Cvetkovic, and also includes Deputy Prime Minister Djelic and Head of the EU Integration Office Milica Delevic.