German ambassador: Hague first, EU talks later

hopefully neither thing will happen, as it would be good for serbia.

and of course serbia can only get eu-member (no matter how bad this would be for serbia), when the eu sends a strong signal for serbias terretorial integrity.

but i feel sorry for "alko-harry", cause now the cg-members don´t even wait to for their private talks to tell him, what the time is ("... new negotiations ...").

or should we say "real negotiations"???

ditto. they have nothing to offer us.

blag, Russia has a lot to offer you.

Some members of the EU are being short sided to say the least in linking the 2 issues.Having said that it amazes me that anybody with any basic understanding of economics would advocate non-membership in an economic bloc as big and developed as the EU.As an economist I can ASSURE you that it is in Serbia's long term economic benefit to become a member.Maybe people here who advocate non membership are only focusing on the political

That's the self-isolating mentality that has done Serbia so much good up to now. I personally would not mind if Serbia remained the pariah state of Europe.

Russians can offer more than the Albanian government. Heck, the real Albanians don't even want Kosovo.

????, you have a lot to offer Russia too !

i always keep wondering when guys that title themselves "democratic" want to join an (e)union that can´t be called "democratic" even if you´re drunk and give them 2/3 of national competences.

and we are talking about serbia, a country that would have impact&control 4 votes within the union (serbia, ex-"bosnia", montenegro and macedonia), not to mention the regional block with the 2 greek votes (greece, cyprus), romania, bulgaria, countries with similar interests.

and you don´t have to be an economic (wich i am) to know, that the future is in russia, india or china, and not with european states that have shrinking population&budgets.

you don´t need much phantasie to get a new cyprus or an old switzerland (liberal banking laws & just wait till all the black money from the good&democratic west arrives).
or serbia is a transit country sitting on the worlds most important way on land, every street or pipeline has to surpass our country. also:just wait and cash in!

so there are a lot of options to keep democracy, indiependence,control AND to gain faster economic health. it wasn´t by luck that in the last 5 years serbia overhauled all other ex-yu states economically, exept slovenia.

luciano... it's not in our interest right now... but it will be. better to not be in EU at this point (we're not ready) while exploiting our proximity to EU.

sidi: no more pariah. business is booming and investor money is piling up. visa regime about to be relaxed. happy business people everywhere. fast forward your mind out of 1999.

Blag-your arguments for Serbia's territorial integrity are eloquent well thought out and well written but rethink your economics.There is a big difference between the Wall Street jewish finacier living in a penthouse in Manhattan and the black Delta Mississippi sharecropper and yet we live in the same economic zone.Serbia needs bold new economic initiatives to propel it to its rightful place and make up for the past 20 years of stagnation/decline.Your rights are better promoted being a member of the club than being an outsider.This is a basic principle on how to win friends and influence people.Serbia signed a free trade agreement with Russia a country of 140 million people and a per capita of $10k.The EU is a market of 490 million people with a triple per capita to that of Russia.Being friendly with Russia at the same time trying to influence countries in the EU is a WIN-WIN situation for Serbia.

RE: Economics of the Balkans

Both Romania and Bulgaria's economies are in a shambles and face stiff EU regulations to meet the standards. In fact, Serbia's economy is much better with stronger employment even with lower GDP per Capita. Greeks economy is far behind the EU standard and they have been members of the EU Community for over a twenty years or so. The only good story is Slovenia which has quickly reached EU economic levels, Croatia is far behind and much in the same state as Romania and Bulgaria.

The fact of the matter is that the Russian economy is the faster growing behind China mainly due to increased revenue through oil reserves and this will continue.

The Balkan countries will continue to lag behind and a more better solution is creating a Balkan EU trading unit within the EU. This is the only viable solution as these countries will continue to struggle.

hopefully neither thing will happen, as it would be good for serbia.

and of course serbia can only get eu-member (no matter how bad this would be for serbia), when the eu sends a strong signal for serbias terretorial integrity.

but i feel sorry for "alko-harry", cause now the cg-members don´t even wait to for their private talks to tell him, what the time is ("... new negotiations ...").

or should we say "real negotiations"???

ditto. they have nothing to offer us.

blag, Russia has a lot to offer you.

Some members of the EU are being short sided to say the least in linking the 2 issues.Having said that it amazes me that anybody with any basic understanding of economics would advocate non-membership in an economic bloc as big and developed as the EU.As an economist I can ASSURE you that it is in Serbia's long term economic benefit to become a member.Maybe people here who advocate non membership are only focusing on the political

That's the self-isolating mentality that has done Serbia so much good up to now. I personally would not mind if Serbia remained the pariah state of Europe.

Russians can offer more than the Albanian government. Heck, the real Albanians don't even want Kosovo.

????, you have a lot to offer Russia too !

i always keep wondering when guys that title themselves "democratic" want to join an (e)union that can´t be called "democratic" even if you´re drunk and give them 2/3 of national competences.

and we are talking about serbia, a country that would have impact&control 4 votes within the union (serbia, ex-"bosnia", montenegro and macedonia), not to mention the regional block with the 2 greek votes (greece, cyprus), romania, bulgaria, countries with similar interests.

and you don´t have to be an economic (wich i am) to know, that the future is in russia, india or china, and not with european states that have shrinking population&budgets.

you don´t need much phantasie to get a new cyprus or an old switzerland (liberal banking laws & just wait till all the black money from the good&democratic west arrives).
or serbia is a transit country sitting on the worlds most important way on land, every street or pipeline has to surpass our country. also:just wait and cash in!

so there are a lot of options to keep democracy, indiependence,control AND to gain faster economic health. it wasn´t by luck that in the last 5 years serbia overhauled all other ex-yu states economically, exept slovenia.

luciano... it's not in our interest right now... but it will be. better to not be in EU at this point (we're not ready) while exploiting our proximity to EU.

sidi: no more pariah. business is booming and investor money is piling up. visa regime about to be relaxed. happy business people everywhere. fast forward your mind out of 1999.

Blag-your arguments for Serbia's territorial integrity are eloquent well thought out and well written but rethink your economics.There is a big difference between the Wall Street jewish finacier living in a penthouse in Manhattan and the black Delta Mississippi sharecropper and yet we live in the same economic zone.Serbia needs bold new economic initiatives to propel it to its rightful place and make up for the past 20 years of stagnation/decline.Your rights are better promoted being a member of the club than being an outsider.This is a basic principle on how to win friends and influence people.Serbia signed a free trade agreement with Russia a country of 140 million people and a per capita of $10k.The EU is a market of 490 million people with a triple per capita to that of Russia.Being friendly with Russia at the same time trying to influence countries in the EU is a WIN-WIN situation for Serbia.

RE: Economics of the Balkans

Both Romania and Bulgaria's economies are in a shambles and face stiff EU regulations to meet the standards. In fact, Serbia's economy is much better with stronger employment even with lower GDP per Capita. Greeks economy is far behind the EU standard and they have been members of the EU Community for over a twenty years or so. The only good story is Slovenia which has quickly reached EU economic levels, Croatia is far behind and much in the same state as Romania and Bulgaria.

The fact of the matter is that the Russian economy is the faster growing behind China mainly due to increased revenue through oil reserves and this will continue.

The Balkan countries will continue to lag behind and a more better solution is creating a Balkan EU trading unit within the EU. This is the only viable solution as these countries will continue to struggle.