(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 9 - On the sidelines of the General Affairs Council on July 14, there will be "several Intergovernmental Conferences (IGCs) with the candidate countries for accession to the European Union." Negotiations in the Council are still ongoing, but the Irish Presidency intends to hold conferences with Ukraine, Montenegro, Moldova, and Albania," a senior EU official stated. "In the case of Ukraine and Moldova, this would entail establishing a new 'cluster' within the formal negotiations, whereas the goal for Montenegro and Albania would be to conclude some negotiating chapters. It is critical to emphasise that we will be in a situation where not one, but two candidate countries will begin to close chapters; we believe this is a very significant aspect," the source stated. Regarding Serbia, "it was discussed yesterday at Coreper, but no agreement was reached on the opening of the three chapters under consideration; therefore, we are unable to schedule an intergovernmental conference with Serbia." "I believe that work is underway, and we will have to assess progress in this regard by the end of the month," he says. (ANSA).