Serbia's priorities both Kosovo and EU - state secretary

Serbia’s Ministry for Kosovo State Secretary Oliver Ivanović has stated that preservation of Kosovo and EU accession are the government’s strategic goals.

Izvor: B92

Friday, 26.08.2011.

10:51

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Serbia’s Ministry for Kosovo State Secretary Oliver Ivanovic has stated that preservation of Kosovo and EU accession are the government’s strategic goals. He said that the next government would also keep those two goals as its priorities. Serbia's priorities both Kosovo and EU - state secretary “The government has a priority to fulfill what is envisaged by the Constitution and everything that is being said in Brussels is carefully monitored,” the state secretary told B92. Pointing out that “one thing is our European vision and wish to join the European society and the other whether the club will be ready to accept us or not,” he said that Serbian President Boris Tadic’s statement that Serbia could not abolish its institutions in the north of the province also proved that caring for its people was the most important thing for the government. “We cannot blame ourselves for almost anything. We did everything we thought was our job on the European pathway,” Ivanovic told B92, commenting on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s latest requests. Merkel requested during her visit to Belgrade that the Serbian authorities allow EULEX to operate in the entire territory of Kosovo and abolish parallel institutions in the north. “The government certainly needs to very carefully monitor everything that is said in Brussels, especially if it is said by one of the most powerful EU countries,” the state secretary pointed out, but added that “the government’s priority was primarily to respect the constitutional obligations and adopted national and state interests”. “If new requests appear it will probably weaken Euro-enthusiasm among people and it will then reflect on the government’s position as well, so the next elections could actually be against the EU,” he pointed out. “I think that it (new conditions) would be wrong,” Ivanovic said and pointed out that “peace in southeast Balkans should be just as important to the EU member states as the EU is important to us”. He stressed that Germany, Austria and Belgium were traditionally countries that many immigrants from Southeast Europe went to, and warned that “those countries can count on new lines of refugees, which they certainly do not want” if the situation in Kosovo became unstable. Oliver Ivanovic (Beta)

Serbia's priorities both Kosovo and EU - state secretary

“The government has a priority to fulfill what is envisaged by the Constitution and everything that is being said in Brussels is carefully monitored,” the state secretary told B92.

Pointing out that “one thing is our European vision and wish to join the European society and the other whether the club will be ready to accept us or not,” he said that Serbian President Boris Tadić’s statement that Serbia could not abolish its institutions in the north of the province also proved that caring for its people was the most important thing for the government.

“We cannot blame ourselves for almost anything. We did everything we thought was our job on the European pathway,” Ivanović told B92, commenting on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s latest requests.

Merkel requested during her visit to Belgrade that the Serbian authorities allow EULEX to operate in the entire territory of Kosovo and abolish parallel institutions in the north.

“The government certainly needs to very carefully monitor everything that is said in Brussels, especially if it is said by one of the most powerful EU countries,” the state secretary pointed out, but added that “the government’s priority was primarily to respect the constitutional obligations and adopted national and state interests”.

“If new requests appear it will probably weaken Euro-enthusiasm among people and it will then reflect on the government’s position as well, so the next elections could actually be against the EU,” he pointed out.

“I think that it (new conditions) would be wrong,” Ivanović said and pointed out that “peace in southeast Balkans should be just as important to the EU member states as the EU is important to us”.

He stressed that Germany, Austria and Belgium were traditionally countries that many immigrants from Southeast Europe went to, and warned that “those countries can count on new lines of refugees, which they certainly do not want” if the situation in Kosovo became unstable.

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