Đelić: Serbia might join EU "in four to six years"

Serbia will join the EU, through its dog-house entrance, in forty to sixty years- all crawling on its belly.
Nobody ever had respect for the people who have forfaited their own self-respect.

Serbia will never join until they admit what they have done and sincerely apologize. Mark my words. Right now Serbs (at least the leadership) is still blaming others and claiming to being a victim, after starting 4 wars and causing so much bloodshed. Serbs need to come clean and denounce the past.

I think most EU countries understands that Serbia is the key to stability, hence their membership is strongly desired. Further, Europeans are about to realize that Serbs are not a bunch of war criminals, and that Serbia has been victim to tremendous injustice in the 90's (like most other in the Former Yugoslavia, that is). The logic consequence of this is obviously that a swift EU membership for Serbia is perfectly within reach.

A second factor, which is also important, is that Russia is pushing for Serbian membership. Being one of the very few European countries Russians trust anyway, they see it in their interest to have both a voice and a pair of eyes in Brussels.

Of course, Serbia won't be a member in 2009, everybody understands that, but as soon as some reasonable agreement to the Karadzic/Mladic issue is found, I will not be surprised if the transition period will be less than a couple of years. So Serbian membership between 2010 and 2015 is no utopian idea.

Of course, several other countries will also join in the same period. This would be at least Croatia, which is as close as you can be, and also probably Albania. While Montenegro will have to wait due to corruption, smuggling, and organized crime, Macedonia will have to wait because the greeks won't accept their name, Bosnia will have to wait because they can't agree on anything (and may even split), and Kosovo will wait because it's already a protectorate ruled from Brussels, and thus there is no need to integrate it.

Serbia will join the EU in 2020. I think this is a more realistic year. Delic should stop deceiving the people of Serbia by telling them four to six years.

Mircea

I notice that you make it very clear that you have some problem with Serbia joining EU. Why? Why should Serbia not join the EU soon but Romania got in already? Are these two countries really that different in terms of development? I don't think so.

The Western Balkans are to be integrated by 2015, this is the date set for all states (apart from Croatia, who will be admitted in 2010), why Romanians are looking down at them and setting conditions as the poorest country in the EU and the one receiving the most financial support makes no sense to me, since Romania would not be developing as fast as it is now without the EU, it would be no different from the Balkans economically.

Peter, I am not against EU membership for Serbia. You undestood me wrong. However, I think that Serbia and other countries in the Western Balkans should not be given a "shortcut" to EU membership.

The main obstacles:
1)Opinion polls inside main Eu countries are against any new membership...and the percentage are increasing ..difficoult this time try to forget this by politician in Europe
2)Serbia has not link itself to the all Eu political spectrum as i already said its difficoult to understand why center right parties will push for a country were they have no "friends"...
3)The EU is seen positevly by only a percentage of half the Serbs and in this opinion a big weight is the dream of "european bancomat" where Europe will pour millions of Euro in Serbian economy and in serbian people vallet so the real number of Serbs loving Eu is probably 20 % very very low...

T.S. wrote: "Serbia has been victim to tremendous injustice in the 90's (like most other in the Former Yugoslavia, that is)."

That is true. But the injustice was carried out with the extatic support of the majority of the Serbian people. Most of them took Yugoslavia for granted, and were sure the Western powers will prevent Slovenians and Croats seperating, no matter what those people wanted. The same way they are still convince that 90% of the Kosovars must be told that they have no choice, but to remain within Serbia. This way of thinkink is incompatible with EU membership.
Membership in EU is volontary, goodnaighbourness is obligatory.
It is obvious that a sppedy accession to the EU must be preceded with a profound reconciliation between Serbs and its neighbours, including the Albanians.

Mircea

I agree that no country should be given shortcuts, but I suspect that both of our countries (Poland and Romania) got one, even though we worked hard for integration, I feel that the EU were willing to overlook the elements that we were lagging behind in due to the fact that we are large countries with big potential (in terms of investments and in terms of our natural resources), but either way, it's good for them and for us.

I do think that countries like Bosnia and Albania are still far away from having at least some kind of acceptable standard for EU ascension due to corruption and the risk investors feel, so of course, no shortcuts here either.

Serbia will never join until they admit what they have done and sincerely apologize. Mark my words. Right now Serbs (at least the leadership) is still blaming others and claiming to being a victim, after starting 4 wars and causing so much bloodshed. Serbs need to come clean and denounce the past.

Serbia will join the EU, through its dog-house entrance, in forty to sixty years- all crawling on its belly.
Nobody ever had respect for the people who have forfaited their own self-respect.

Serbia will join the EU in 2020. I think this is a more realistic year. Delic should stop deceiving the people of Serbia by telling them four to six years.

I think most EU countries understands that Serbia is the key to stability, hence their membership is strongly desired. Further, Europeans are about to realize that Serbs are not a bunch of war criminals, and that Serbia has been victim to tremendous injustice in the 90's (like most other in the Former Yugoslavia, that is). The logic consequence of this is obviously that a swift EU membership for Serbia is perfectly within reach.

A second factor, which is also important, is that Russia is pushing for Serbian membership. Being one of the very few European countries Russians trust anyway, they see it in their interest to have both a voice and a pair of eyes in Brussels.

Of course, Serbia won't be a member in 2009, everybody understands that, but as soon as some reasonable agreement to the Karadzic/Mladic issue is found, I will not be surprised if the transition period will be less than a couple of years. So Serbian membership between 2010 and 2015 is no utopian idea.

Of course, several other countries will also join in the same period. This would be at least Croatia, which is as close as you can be, and also probably Albania. While Montenegro will have to wait due to corruption, smuggling, and organized crime, Macedonia will have to wait because the greeks won't accept their name, Bosnia will have to wait because they can't agree on anything (and may even split), and Kosovo will wait because it's already a protectorate ruled from Brussels, and thus there is no need to integrate it.

Mircea

I notice that you make it very clear that you have some problem with Serbia joining EU. Why? Why should Serbia not join the EU soon but Romania got in already? Are these two countries really that different in terms of development? I don't think so.

The Western Balkans are to be integrated by 2015, this is the date set for all states (apart from Croatia, who will be admitted in 2010), why Romanians are looking down at them and setting conditions as the poorest country in the EU and the one receiving the most financial support makes no sense to me, since Romania would not be developing as fast as it is now without the EU, it would be no different from the Balkans economically.

Peter, I am not against EU membership for Serbia. You undestood me wrong. However, I think that Serbia and other countries in the Western Balkans should not be given a "shortcut" to EU membership.

The main obstacles:
1)Opinion polls inside main Eu countries are against any new membership...and the percentage are increasing ..difficoult this time try to forget this by politician in Europe
2)Serbia has not link itself to the all Eu political spectrum as i already said its difficoult to understand why center right parties will push for a country were they have no "friends"...
3)The EU is seen positevly by only a percentage of half the Serbs and in this opinion a big weight is the dream of "european bancomat" where Europe will pour millions of Euro in Serbian economy and in serbian people vallet so the real number of Serbs loving Eu is probably 20 % very very low...

T.S. wrote: "Serbia has been victim to tremendous injustice in the 90's (like most other in the Former Yugoslavia, that is)."

That is true. But the injustice was carried out with the extatic support of the majority of the Serbian people. Most of them took Yugoslavia for granted, and were sure the Western powers will prevent Slovenians and Croats seperating, no matter what those people wanted. The same way they are still convince that 90% of the Kosovars must be told that they have no choice, but to remain within Serbia. This way of thinkink is incompatible with EU membership.
Membership in EU is volontary, goodnaighbourness is obligatory.
It is obvious that a sppedy accession to the EU must be preceded with a profound reconciliation between Serbs and its neighbours, including the Albanians.

Mircea

I agree that no country should be given shortcuts, but I suspect that both of our countries (Poland and Romania) got one, even though we worked hard for integration, I feel that the EU were willing to overlook the elements that we were lagging behind in due to the fact that we are large countries with big potential (in terms of investments and in terms of our natural resources), but either way, it's good for them and for us.

I do think that countries like Bosnia and Albania are still far away from having at least some kind of acceptable standard for EU ascension due to corruption and the risk investors feel, so of course, no shortcuts here either.