President: Kosovo must not be EU's condition

President: Kosovo must not be EU's condition

"My position that renouncing Kosovo and Metohija must not be a condition for entering the Union is also my life, and there is nothing left to change there. And this is so clear to the EU that they have been saying the whole time that no one is asking it of us," Nikolic said late on Monday.

The president, however, pointed out that the new composition of the European Commission has acted "much more harshly, more openly about their demands."

"Now they are not saying 'we do not demand that you recognize the independence of Kosovo and Metohija' - instead, they are saying what the German parliament said two years ago: 'to become an EU member, you will have to bring a signed agreement on good-neighborly relations with Kosovo that will define all your relations.' Much of a muchness," Nikolic said.

"If Pristina does not want to sign that contract, how can we join the EU. And why wouldn't they - they wouldn't, because we do not recognize Kosovo," he stressed, adding that "we're running around in circles like this."

Commenting on a statement made by the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn during his recent visit to Belgrade, Nikolic said: "I want to say openly and clearly - and you have heard it from the Commission's president as well - he said that Serbia's admission will definitely not take place in his first term. However, they want us to fully implement the Brussels agreement in February, and then they could request that we implement a new agreement in May," Tanjug quoted Nikolic as saying.

Serbia must persevere in the principle that it wants to join the European Union, but that it cannot do so without Kosovo, Nikolic said.

During the same interview, Nikolic described "the checking of the composition" of the Bureau for Coordination of Security Services as "one of the first jobs to be done in 2015."

"The Bureau works, but the truth is that (its chairman) Aleksandar Vucic, by taking over as prime minister, took on a lot more work than he did as deputy prime minister and defense minister. I think we should check the composition of the Bureau - that is one of the first jobs for next year on which we will work together," Nikolic announced.

According to him, there is "a defect" when it comes to "who decides if wiretapping and surveillance, is allowed, " and that it must be resolved "exclusively in the highest court."

"The president of the republic has not been appointed to oversee security services. He may, as I am doing now, give direction and from time to time discuss how far they have came," said Nikolic.

He also believes that "there is information that is not for the head of state."

"It is a matter of assessment, what they think is of interest to the state. They know my attitude and that I think it is not of interest to the state who is talking to whom, who is meeting with whom, that kind of gossip," said Nikolic.

He added that he was performing his duties in accordance with the law and the Constitution, and "does not read such materials" - as well as that he never read his own file.

Nikolic believes that the manner of appointment of the Serbian president should be changed, and that instead of directly, the president should be elected in parliament.

According to him, the Constitution has remained vague with regards to the appointment of the president, adding that his consent to the current system was a concession to the Democratic Party (DS) and its then leader and president of Serbia Boris Tadic.

“(In the previous elections) I advocated for the president to be elected by the parliament entrusting him with the powers this body envisaged for this office. However, he (Tadic) said that he would not vote at all for the Constitution unless the president is elected directly,” Nikolic said.

"As regards to the issue of the president of the republic, the Constitution is flawed, and I believe that it should be changed. The president in Serbia does not have the same power as the one held by directly elected presidents in other countries, and I believe that if the government keeps its current powers, the president should be appointed in parliament," Nikolic said.