Tadić: Date for accession talks by year's end

Serbian President Boris Tadic said on Thursday he believed Serbia would get the date for the start of the EU accession talks by the end of the year. He added that he also hoped that Italy would back Serbia on that road. Tadic: Date for accession talks by year's end “I believe that Italy will support Serbia in obtaining the date of accession talks, and we expect that will happen by the end of 2012,” Tadic said at a press conference at the second summit Serbia-Italy. The Serbian president stressed that Serbia wanted to resolve the issue of Kosovo, rather than freeze it. He said that there were many modes in which the problem could be resolved, adding that it was only in terms of the Kosovo issue that Serbia did not see eye to eye with Italy. “We disagree with Italy only in terms of the Kosovo issue, but I am grateful for the country's position which is not rigid, but directed at resolution of problems rather than freezing of the conflict,” Tadic noted. He told daily Blic earlier that once the country received a date for the beginning of the EU accession talks, the EU integration process would be irreversible. “This will be a true achievement because Serbia’s European pathway will then reach a point when it would be impossible to jeopardize it but a lot of work needs to be done so Serbia would continue to implement reforms and be a desirable partner to everybody in the region and Europe,” he told daily Blic. When asked whether Serbia with the EU candidate status would be a more attractive destination for investors, the president said that he expected a strategic partnership with all EU member states. “I expect that Serbia will from now on in the international business circles be seen as a favorable destination for investments and that candidate status, which is important for our perspective, changes Serbia’s overall image,” Tadic was quoted as saying. According to him, candidate status is a guarantee of security for investors, as well as a message that Serbia is a country which respects European values. Tadic said there was no danger of a new economic crisis in the eurozone threatening the realization of Fiat's investment in Serbia. According to him, the example of Fiat shows this is the only way for Serbia to solve the chronic problems of its economy, above all the foreign trade deficit. Talking about the start of production on the new Fiat 500L, he said he was proud that a high-quality, technically advanced and sophisticated product would appear in the world market with the label "Made in Serbia." "Serbia has succeeded not only in bringing a major automobile manufacturer, but also in restarting its production of car parts. All this is our new economic perspective," believes the president. Talking about Italian investments in the Serbian economy, Tadic reminded that it took five years to bring Fiat and Benetton to the country, but said he recently talked to Danieli Board of Directors Chairman Gianpietro Benedetti about the possibility of the company building a factory for special steel products in Serbia. Tadic said he expected the decision-making processes to move faster now that Serbia is an EU candidate country. Mario Monti and Boris Tadic “Italy will support Serbia” Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti stated that Serbia deserved the EU candidate status and that the efforts that the country had made in order to fulfill all EU preconditions set a good example. Speaking about the date for the beginning of the accession talks, Monti underlined that this was a very important phase, after which nothing would be the same. “Italy wants to back Serbia on that pathway, and it wants Europe to view Serbia as politically and economically mature for such a step,” the Italian PM explained. He noted that the two countries had different stands in terms of the Kosovo issue, which should be respected, but that it was important that there was good will towards seeking a solution, which was also confirmed by Tadic at a press conference of the Serbia-Italy Summit. Italy one of Serbia's major partners, PM says Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic expressed gratitude to Italy for the support it gave Serbia in its efforts aimed at winning the EU candidate status, and pointed out that Italy was one of Serbia's most important business partners. “The meeting comes at an exceptional moment since Serbia won EU candidate status several days ago,” he underscored and added that cooperation with Italy constituted both a benefit and an obligation for the country to continue the reform process and intensify the efforts in EU accession just as Serbia had been doing up to now. After the meeting with the Italian governmental and business delegation headed by the Italian prime minister, Cvetkovic told a news conference that Italian partners expressed interest in participating in the construction of the railway section of Corridor 11 through Serbia, from Belgrade to Montenegro, and the construction of the Belgrade metro. He said that a series of agreements were signed with Italy during the Thursday meetings, and specified that one of the signed documents covered the matter of European integration. The Serbian prime minister recalled that Italy ranked third on the list of Serbia's foreign exchange partners and took the fifth place on the list of foreign investors. “Over 400 companies from Italy which employ over 20,000 people are currently operating in Serbia,” he noted and underscored that so far no complaints were voiced as regards the companies' work and their attitude to employees in Serbia. Italy is Serbia's most important foreign exchange partner within the EU because the two countries' exchange in 2011 exceeded USD 3.1bn and according to the amount of investments in Serbia, the country takes the sixth place with around EUR 1bn worth of investments and equipment. Over the past 20 years, Italy has always ranked as one of top three countries when it comes to imports from Serbia. Blic Tanjug

Tadić: Date for accession talks by year's end

“I believe that Italy will support Serbia in obtaining the date of accession talks, and we expect that will happen by the end of 2012,” Tadić said at a press conference at the second summit Serbia-Italy.

The Serbian president stressed that Serbia wanted to resolve the issue of Kosovo, rather than freeze it.

He said that there were many modes in which the problem could be resolved, adding that it was only in terms of the Kosovo issue that Serbia did not see eye to eye with Italy.

“We disagree with Italy only in terms of the Kosovo issue, but I am grateful for the country's position which is not rigid, but directed at resolution of problems rather than freezing of the conflict,” Tadić noted.

He told daily Blic earlier that once the country received a date for the beginning of the EU accession talks, the EU integration process would be irreversible.

“This will be a true achievement because Serbia’s European pathway will then reach a point when it would be impossible to jeopardize it but a lot of work needs to be done so Serbia would continue to implement reforms and be a desirable partner to everybody in the region and Europe,” he told daily Blic.

When asked whether Serbia with the EU candidate status would be a more attractive destination for investors, the president said that he expected a strategic partnership with all EU member states.

“I expect that Serbia will from now on in the international business circles be seen as a favorable destination for investments and that candidate status, which is important for our perspective, changes Serbia’s overall image,” Tadić was quoted as saying.

According to him, candidate status is a guarantee of security for investors, as well as a message that Serbia is a country which respects European values.

Tadić said there was no danger of a new economic crisis in the eurozone threatening the realization of Fiat's investment in Serbia.

According to him, the example of Fiat shows this is the only way for Serbia to solve the chronic problems of its economy, above all the foreign trade deficit.

Talking about the start of production on the new Fiat 500L, he said he was proud that a high-quality, technically advanced and sophisticated product would appear in the world market with the label "Made in Serbia."

"Serbia has succeeded not only in bringing a major automobile manufacturer, but also in restarting its production of car parts. All this is our new economic perspective," believes the president.

Talking about Italian investments in the Serbian economy, Tadić reminded that it took five years to bring Fiat and Benetton to the country, but said he recently talked to Danieli Board of Directors Chairman Gianpietro Benedetti about the possibility of the company building a factory for special steel products in Serbia.

Tadić said he expected the decision-making processes to move faster now that Serbia is an EU candidate country.

“Italy will support Serbia”

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti stated that Serbia deserved the EU candidate status and that the efforts that the country had made in order to fulfill all EU preconditions set a good example.

Speaking about the date for the beginning of the accession talks, Monti underlined that this was a very important phase, after which nothing would be the same.

“Italy wants to back Serbia on that pathway, and it wants Europe to view Serbia as politically and economically mature for such a step,” the Italian PM explained.

He noted that the two countries had different stands in terms of the Kosovo issue, which should be respected, but that it was important that there was good will towards seeking a solution, which was also confirmed by Tadić at a press conference of the Serbia-Italy Summit.

Italy one of Serbia's major partners, PM says

Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković expressed gratitude to Italy for the support it gave Serbia in its efforts aimed at winning the EU candidate status, and pointed out that Italy was one of Serbia's most important business partners.

“The meeting comes at an exceptional moment since Serbia won EU candidate status several days ago,” he underscored and added that cooperation with Italy constituted both a benefit and an obligation for the country to continue the reform process and intensify the efforts in EU accession just as Serbia had been doing up to now.

After the meeting with the Italian governmental and business delegation headed by the Italian prime minister, Cvetković told a news conference that Italian partners expressed interest in participating in the construction of the railway section of Corridor 11 through Serbia, from Belgrade to Montenegro, and the construction of the Belgrade metro.

He said that a series of agreements were signed with Italy during the Thursday meetings, and specified that one of the signed documents covered the matter of European integration.

The Serbian prime minister recalled that Italy ranked third on the list of Serbia's foreign exchange partners and took the fifth place on the list of foreign investors.

“Over 400 companies from Italy which employ over 20,000 people are currently operating in Serbia,” he noted and underscored that so far no complaints were voiced as regards the companies' work and their attitude to employees in Serbia.

Italy is Serbia's most important foreign exchange partner within the EU because the two countries' exchange in 2011 exceeded USD 3.1bn and according to the amount of investments in Serbia, the country takes the sixth place with around EUR 1bn worth of investments and equipment.

Over the past 20 years, Italy has always ranked as one of top three countries when it comes to imports from Serbia.