“EU accession talks date likely in late 2013”

BELGRADE Serbian parliament's EU Integration Committee Deputy President Laslo Varga says Serbia will have to wait for the end of 2013 to get a date for the EU talks. He explained that this was due to the dialogue with Pristina. “EU accession talks date likely in late 2013” “The chances of Serbia getting a date for the start of the EU accession talks in spring or summer, as some hope, are very small,” Varga told daily Politika. He noted that the European Commission would release its report on Serbia's progress in October, saying whether it recommends the country's further integration process. “If the date for the beginning of the EU accession talks is not set, Serbia will probably get some new tasks. The EC will consider the issue of progress again in a year, meaning next autumn, and therefore I believe that it is quite unlikely that Serbia will get a date for the beginning of the talks before December 2013,” Varga explained. “If a political dialogue with Pristina starts, it is unrealistic to expect that it will end in two or three months, and since this is the most important precondition, Serbia will certainly have to wait for a year before it gets the date,” he added. He said that exceptions were also possible, adding that this was exactly the case with Serbia that got the EU candidacy in March, which was unusual. Serbian government's EU Integration Office Director Milan Pajevic said on Tuesday that Serbia would get a date for the beginning of the EU accession talks by next summer. Politika Tanjug

“EU accession talks date likely in late 2013”

“The chances of Serbia getting a date for the start of the EU accession talks in spring or summer, as some hope, are very small,” Varga told daily Politika.

He noted that the European Commission would release its report on Serbia's progress in October, saying whether it recommends the country's further integration process.

“If the date for the beginning of the EU accession talks is not set, Serbia will probably get some new tasks. The EC will consider the issue of progress again in a year, meaning next autumn, and therefore I believe that it is quite unlikely that Serbia will get a date for the beginning of the talks before December 2013,” Varga explained.

“If a political dialogue with Priština starts, it is unrealistic to expect that it will end in two or three months, and since this is the most important precondition, Serbia will certainly have to wait for a year before it gets the date,” he added.

He said that exceptions were also possible, adding that this was exactly the case with Serbia that got the EU candidacy in March, which was unusual.

Serbian government's EU Integration Office Director Milan Pajević said on Tuesday that Serbia would get a date for the beginning of the EU accession talks by next summer.