Tadić: Serbia mulling candidacy application

President Boris Tadic said on Monday that there is a possibility that Serbia will submit its EU membership candidacy by the end of the year. “Currently, we are deliberating very carefully what the right date would be to officially apply for candidacy, and it will probably happen by the end of the year,” Tadic told Italian agency Ansa. Tadic: Serbia mulling candidacy application He added that he expects the coming summit between Italian and Serbia officials in Rome to introduce new dialogue for strategic cooperation in the fields of communication, industrial machinery manufacturing, energy and regional cooperation. “In all these fields, Italy and Serbia have excellent cooperation potential, which is why we will make them priorities during the coming visit,” Tadic said. The summit is scheduled for November 13. The Serbian president also said that Italy’s support "politically and economically is very important to Serbia, especially in its European integration plan". “I want to thank (Foreign Minister Franco) Frattini and the Italian government and state for their essential support of Serbia’s European integrations,” Tadic said, adding that he hopes that the European Parliament will be the first to ratify the Stabilization and Association Agreement between Serbia and the EU once it is unfrozen. Speaking of the presence of Fiat in Serbia, Tadic said that the new investments of the Italian carmaker will support technological development in Serbia. According to Ansa, there will be a new Fiat model presented during Tadic’s visit to Italy, which will be produced in the Zastava factory in Kragujevac, central Serbia. The president was also quoted as saying Serbia also considers as important "Italy's experience and success" regarding the successful business of small and medium-sized companies. As far as energy cooperation is concerned, Tadic said that he spoke with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently about the South Stream project which should be able to supply Italy with Russian gas via the Balkan countries.

Tadić: Serbia mulling candidacy application

He added that he expects the coming summit between Italian and Serbia officials in Rome to introduce new dialogue for strategic cooperation in the fields of communication, industrial machinery manufacturing, energy and regional cooperation.

“In all these fields, Italy and Serbia have excellent cooperation potential, which is why we will make them priorities during the coming visit,” Tadić said.

The summit is scheduled for November 13.

The Serbian president also said that Italy’s support "politically and economically is very important to Serbia, especially in its European integration plan".

“I want to thank (Foreign Minister Franco) Frattini and the Italian government and state for their essential support of Serbia’s European integrations,” Tadić said, adding that he hopes that the European Parliament will be the first to ratify the Stabilization and Association Agreement between Serbia and the EU once it is unfrozen.

Speaking of the presence of Fiat in Serbia, Tadić said that the new investments of the Italian carmaker will support technological development in Serbia.

According to Ansa, there will be a new Fiat model presented during Tadić’s visit to Italy, which will be produced in the Zastava factory in Kragujevac, central Serbia.

The president was also quoted as saying Serbia also considers as important "Italy's experience and success" regarding the successful business of small and medium-sized companies.

As far as energy cooperation is concerned, Tadić said that he spoke with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently about the South Stream project which should be able to supply Italy with Russian gas via the Balkan countries.