“Serbia will tell EU Kosovo is its part”

Belgrade will state that Kosovo is a part of its territory as it submits answers to the European Commission (EC) questionnaire. This is according to EU Integration Office Director Milica Delevic, who told B92 that she did not believe that "anybody will be surprised by the fact that Serbia will give answers in accordance with the Constitution". “Serbia will tell EU Kosovo is its part” Delevic also noted that she did not think there would be "any expectation about Serbia declaring itself in some way, since there is no consent about the issues in question among EU member states themselves". Meanwhile, a new report on fulfillment of goals defined by the national strategy for EU accession will soon be debated by the government. The report will show that during the last quarter, state authorities showed less efficiency in meeting the goals than at the end of last year when as much as 97 percent of the plan was achieved. European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele told Novi Sad-based daily Dnevnik recently that the EU was not forcing Serbia to "choose between membership and tendency to have Kosovo as a part of Serbia", which, he said, would be confirmed in the questionnaire – a document submitted to every country during a review of its candidacy. “The questions that the questionnaire will bring won’t be a surprise to anybody because they are directed to help the Commission which will sort the opinions about our application for membership, and about how close we are to the fulfillment of the criteria,” Delevic stated. She pointed out that the questionnaire is the same for everyone, and that it could be expected that Serbia would receive the same documents as Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania had. Delevic stressed that "there was no clear consensus in the EU about whether Kosovo was a state or not, but that there was agreement that it is necessary to include Kosovo into integration processes, on both European and regional level".

“Serbia will tell EU Kosovo is its part”

Delević also noted that she did not think there would be "any expectation about Serbia declaring itself in some way, since there is no consent about the issues in question among EU member states themselves".

Meanwhile, a new report on fulfillment of goals defined by the national strategy for EU accession will soon be debated by the government.

The report will show that during the last quarter, state authorities showed less efficiency in meeting the goals than at the end of last year when as much as 97 percent of the plan was achieved.

European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele told Novi Sad-based daily Dnevnik recently that the EU was not forcing Serbia to "choose between membership and tendency to have Kosovo as a part of Serbia", which, he said, would be confirmed in the questionnaire – a document submitted to every country during a review of its candidacy.

“The questions that the questionnaire will bring won’t be a surprise to anybody because they are directed to help the Commission which will sort the opinions about our application for membership, and about how close we are to the fulfillment of the criteria,” Delević stated.

She pointed out that the questionnaire is the same for everyone, and that it could be expected that Serbia would receive the same documents as Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania had.

Delević stressed that "there was no clear consensus in the EU about whether Kosovo was a state or not, but that there was agreement that it is necessary to include Kosovo into integration processes, on both European and regional level".