Đelić: Obstruction threatening Schengen hopes

Božidar Đelić says further obstruction of parliament could hamper Serbian accession to the White Schengen List.

Izvor: FoNet

Thursday, 07.08.2008.

12:12

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Bozidar Djelic says further obstruction of parliament could hamper Serbian accession to the White Schengen List. “Everyone has to do their part of the work, and to shoulder their part of the responsibility. It’s very clear that we won’t get on the White List if parliament continues to be obstructed,” warned the deputy prime minister, speaking to journalists at New Belgrade police station. Djelic: Obstruction threatening Schengen hopes Citizens have to know, he added, that those responsible for the obstruction, were not only blocking ratification of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), but also the energy deal with Russia, repairs to the Gazela bridge in Belgrade, and the construction of the Belgrade bypass. “They’re now starting to block key freedoms, freedom of movement and the abolishment of the visa regime for our citizens. Further blockage will jeopardize getting on the White Schengen List,“ Djelic reiterated. The deputy prime minister said that the “schedule for reaching the White List is clear“, and that Serbia had to compile a report for the European Commission by September 1. There would be a ministerial conference at European and West Balkan interior minister level in the middle of November, he said, where European Commission (EC) Vice-President Jacques Barrot would submit his report on Serbia’s progress. “In the first week of November, the EC will also publish a comprehensive annual report on Serbia and other states in the region, which will show how much progress has been achieved,“ Djelic added. In order for reforms carried out by Serbia to be included within that report, the minister stressed that they had to be complete by the end of September. “in other words, if the obstruction of parliament precludes the adoption of laws necessary for reaching the White Schengen List, we may not be able to make it by the end of the year. But, I continue to be, not an optimist, but a harsh realist and very ambitious, because I know that this is what the people want,“ he said. Bozidar Djelic (FoNet, archive)

Đelić: Obstruction threatening Schengen hopes

Citizens have to know, he added, that those responsible for the obstruction, were not only blocking ratification of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), but also the energy deal with Russia, repairs to the Gazela bridge in Belgrade, and the construction of the Belgrade bypass.

“They’re now starting to block key freedoms, freedom of movement and the abolishment of the visa regime for our citizens. Further blockage will jeopardize getting on the White Schengen List,“ Đelić reiterated.

The deputy prime minister said that the “schedule for reaching the White List is clear“, and that Serbia had to compile a report for the European Commission by September 1.

There would be a ministerial conference at European and West Balkan interior minister level in the middle of November, he said, where European Commission (EC) Vice-President Jacques Barrot would submit his report on Serbia’s progress.

“In the first week of November, the EC will also publish a comprehensive annual report on Serbia and other states in the region, which will show how much progress has been achieved,“ Đelić added.

In order for reforms carried out by Serbia to be included within that report, the minister stressed that they had to be complete by the end of September.

“in other words, if the obstruction of parliament precludes the adoption of laws necessary for reaching the White Schengen List, we may not be able to make it by the end of the year. But, I continue to be, not an optimist, but a harsh realist and very ambitious, because I know that this is what the people want,“ he said.

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