"Serbia alone can decide on NATO membership"

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says that it is up to Serbia to decide whether to join NATO in addition to the EU. He pointed out, however, that experience over recent years had shown that accession to both organizations usually went hand in hand. "Serbia alone can decide on NATO membership" “NATO and the EU are two different organizations. They make their decisions independently, including those about important issues like enlargement,” de Hoop Scheffer said in an interview for Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti published on Wednesday. “Also, each of these two organizations has its own instruments for helping countries that wish to join, prepare for membership,” he added. “It has been demonstrated in practice over recent years that EU and NATO memberships tend to go together,” he said. Asked whether he supported Belgrade’s idea of revising the Kumanovo Agreement, Scheffer said that Serbian President Boris Tadic had highlighted Serbia’s interest in adapting the military-technical accord signed between KFOR and the Serbian military in 1999. “Any NATO decision on this matter is a political issue that needs to be sent to the NATO Council to decide on. Accordingly, in order to resolve that matter successfully, we’ve asked Serbia to supply us with the details of changes that it wants and to outline the reasons why it should be done. I understand that your authorities plan to do this at an appropriate juncture,“ said the NATO chief. He added that KFOR had been performing its duties of effectively ensuring a secure and safe environment in Kosovo for almost a decade, in line with its mandate based on UN Security Council resolution 1244. “That will continue to be KFOR and the whole alliance’s commitment. I’m glad that all communities, including the Serb community in Kosovo, systematically highly rate KFOR’s capabilities and have confidence in it,” said Scheffer, who will make way in August for his successor, Denmark’s Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (FoNet, archive)

"Serbia alone can decide on NATO membership"

“NATO and the EU are two different organizations. They make their decisions independently, including those about important issues like enlargement,” de Hoop Scheffer said in an interview for Belgrade-based daily Večernje Novosti published on Wednesday.

“Also, each of these two organizations has its own instruments for helping countries that wish to join, prepare for membership,” he added.

“It has been demonstrated in practice over recent years that EU and NATO memberships tend to go together,” he said.

Asked whether he supported Belgrade’s idea of revising the Kumanovo Agreement, Scheffer said that Serbian President Boris Tadić had highlighted Serbia’s interest in adapting the military-technical accord signed between KFOR and the Serbian military in 1999.

“Any NATO decision on this matter is a political issue that needs to be sent to the NATO Council to decide on. Accordingly, in order to resolve that matter successfully, we’ve asked Serbia to supply us with the details of changes that it wants and to outline the reasons why it should be done. I understand that your authorities plan to do this at an appropriate juncture,“ said the NATO chief.

He added that KFOR had been performing its duties of effectively ensuring a secure and safe environment in Kosovo for almost a decade, in line with its mandate based on UN Security Council resolution 1244.

“That will continue to be KFOR and the whole alliance’s commitment. I’m glad that all communities, including the Serb community in Kosovo, systematically highly rate KFOR’s capabilities and have confidence in it,” said Scheffer, who will make way in August for his successor, Denmark’s Anders Fogh Rasmussen.