The first EU expert mission which will investigate how far Serbia has come with reforms, will arrive in Belgrade on February 21, Head of the European Integration Office Milica Delevic said Thursday.

Delevic told Tanjug that the experts will observe the state of the judiciary, law enforcement and the fight against organized crime and corruption.

Expert missions of the European Commission, which will visit Belgrade several times starting in late February, want to verify on the ground how the reforms are coming along in three key areas - rule of law and the judiciary, operation of independent regulatory bodies, and human and minority rights.

Their goal is to check the situation on the ground and provide additional information to the Commission on how far Serbia has come in meeting the three key membership criteria - rule of law and the judiciary, operation of independent regulatory bodies, human rights and the protection of minorities.

Missions will be sent to Belgrade to investigate these three domains, which the Enlargement Directorate considers sensitive, Tanjug was told earlier by the office of the European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fuele.

Other European Commission directorates could also send missions to Serbia if necessary.

Advisor for EU Integration Ksenija Milenkovic noted in a statement with Tanjug that the purpose of the visits is to solve all problems in reforms no later than this summer, so that the European Commission can give a positive opinion on Serbia's membership candidacy.

After visiting Belgrade, the missions file reports with the European Commission, and Stefan Fuele recently said that Brussels could offer its opinion on Serbia's candidacy in the annual progress report due on October 12.