Serbia can get candidate status “by year's end”

Serbian President Boris Tadic said Saturday in Brussels that Serbia could get EU candidate status by the end of the year and then start the accession talks. He added that it would mean safety and a better life for the Serbian people. Serbia can get candidate status “by year's end” After a series of meetings with EU officials, the Serbian president told reporters that "everyone is very satisfied with what has been accomplished" in Serbia, and the start of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. Tadic started the talks on the sidelines of the Brussels Forum on Friday by meeting with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, and on Saturday he met with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek and EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, with whom he conferred for over an hour. "The talks went well and I believe Serbia has a great chance to achieve everything envisaged by the Action Plan," the Serbian president pointed out, noting that Serbia needed to pass a set of laws by the end of June for the process to be successful. He stressed that substantial changes were needed and that special attention had been paid to reforms in judiciary, political system and blank resignation letters in the parliament. "Everyone is very satisfied with what has been accomplished. I can be nothing but satisfied myself," Tadic said, adding that he and the EU officials he talked with concluded that Serbia, while not yet a membership candidate, was fulfilling the requirements and conducting reforms some countries left until the end of accession talks, such as judiciary reform. The president pointed out that Fule was satisfied with the process and the dynamics, but "that does not mean we should not speed things up." When it comes to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Tadic reiterated to the EU officials that Belgrade is talking part in a process whose goal is to solve "a historical conflict" in the Balkans, which is "historical contribution" to peace, "with the deep awareness that we cannot bring our conflicts into the EU." Boris Tadic and Stefan Fule meet in Brussels (Tanjug)

Serbia can get candidate status “by year's end”

After a series of meetings with EU officials, the Serbian president told reporters that "everyone is very satisfied with what has been accomplished" in Serbia, and the start of dialogue between Belgrade and Priština.

Tadić started the talks on the sidelines of the Brussels Forum on Friday by meeting with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, and on Saturday he met with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek and EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, with whom he conferred for over an hour.

"The talks went well and I believe Serbia has a great chance to achieve everything envisaged by the Action Plan," the Serbian president pointed out, noting that Serbia needed to pass a set of laws by the end of June for the process to be successful.

He stressed that substantial changes were needed and that special attention had been paid to reforms in judiciary, political system and blank resignation letters in the parliament.

"Everyone is very satisfied with what has been accomplished. I can be nothing but satisfied myself," Tadić said, adding that he and the EU officials he talked with concluded that Serbia, while not yet a membership candidate, was fulfilling the requirements and conducting reforms some countries left until the end of accession talks, such as judiciary reform.

The president pointed out that Fule was satisfied with the process and the dynamics, but "that does not mean we should not speed things up."

When it comes to the Belgrade-Priština dialogue, Tadić reiterated to the EU officials that Belgrade is talking part in a process whose goal is to solve "a historical conflict" in the Balkans, which is "historical contribution" to peace, "with the deep awareness that we cannot bring our conflicts into the EU."