President denies EU has new conditions

There are no additional conditions for Serbia to join the EU, a source from the Tadic cabinet said. Beta news agency quoted an anonymous member of President Boris Tadic's staff as making the statement in response to that by Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) official Slobodan Samardzic that two new conditions have been given to Belgrade. President denies EU has new conditions The source said "nobody had stated that there were new requirements for Serbia", and that "it would not be good if Samardzic's statement became another of his party's election catch phrases". Samardzic, Serbia's minister for Kosovo, said Monday that in the process of European integration, attention should be paid to the open letter by Dimitrij Rupel and Bernard Kouchner, the foreign ministers of Slovenia and France, because it is "of very curious content" and that the novelty of viewing Serbia as a unique case could be detected. "In that letter, two new conditions in the integration process are hinted at to Serbia -- accepting the EULEX mission in Kosovo and developing and realizing good neighborly relations with Kosovo as an independent country," Samardzic said. He added that if the second condition were "to be finalized," this would mean that Serbia should "recognize Kosovo in the near future", according to Tanjug news agency. "This sheds fresh light on relations with the EU. The DSS position is that the EU integrations are something on which Serbia, as a state, has insisted and initiated, but, over the past few months, the EU has changed its policy and started presenting Serbia with conditions that were not put before any other country," Samardzic set out. He stressed that the election campaign "should be viewed in this light", because "many parties are running with the stand that integrations should be carried out unconditionally, regardless of what Europe demands from us." Beta quoted Samardzic as adding that the EU had changed its policy toward Serbia and is setting the country conditions no one else has had to meet. Excerpts from the Rupel-Kouchner letter are available here. Also on Monday, Samardzic denied the allegations that Serbia intended to launch a military intervention in Kosovo, leveled at the DSS last week by Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac, DS. Samardzic told reporters that "such a response is out of question because Serbia respects UN Resolution 1244". "Serbia respects Resolution 1244 and no one in Serbia had any intention to carry out a military intervention, which is why there was no need for anyone from the inside to prevent it. It is rather strange that the defense minister prefers to be busy making statements on false grounds than to do his job," said Samardzic. The minister added that "it would be best if every minister would do his job and present to the public the results of their work, instead of telling untruths and interfering in departments of their colleagues". Boris Tadic (FoNet, archive)

President denies EU has new conditions

The source said "nobody had stated that there were new requirements for Serbia", and that "it would not be good if Samardžić's statement became another of his party's election catch phrases".

Samardžić, Serbia's minister for Kosovo, said Monday that in the process of European integration, attention should be paid to the open letter by Dimitrij Rupel and Bernard Kouchner, the foreign ministers of Slovenia and France, because it is "of very curious content" and that the novelty of viewing Serbia as a unique case could be detected.

"In that letter, two new conditions in the integration process are hinted at to Serbia -- accepting the EULEX mission in Kosovo and developing and realizing good neighborly relations with Kosovo as an independent country," Samardžić said.

He added that if the second condition were "to be finalized," this would mean that Serbia should "recognize Kosovo in the near future", according to Tanjug news agency.

"This sheds fresh light on relations with the EU. The DSS position is that the EU integrations are something on which Serbia, as a state, has insisted and initiated, but, over the past few months, the EU has changed its policy and started presenting Serbia with conditions that were not put before any other country," Samardžić set out.

He stressed that the election campaign "should be viewed in this light", because "many parties are running with the stand that integrations should be carried out unconditionally, regardless of what Europe demands from us."

Beta quoted Samardžić as adding that the EU had changed its policy toward Serbia and is setting the country conditions no one else has had to meet.

Excerpts from the Rupel-Kouchner letter are available here.

Also on Monday, Samardžić denied the allegations that Serbia intended to launch a military intervention in Kosovo, leveled at the DSS last week by Defense Minister Dragan Šutanovac, DS.

Samardžić told reporters that "such a response is out of question because Serbia respects UN Resolution 1244".

"Serbia respects Resolution 1244 and no one in Serbia had any intention to carry out a military intervention, which is why there was no need for anyone from the inside to prevent it. It is rather strange that the defense minister prefers to be busy making statements on false grounds than to do his job," said Samardžić.

The minister added that "it would be best if every minister would do his job and present to the public the results of their work, instead of telling untruths and interfering in departments of their colleagues".