Decision on EU talks date “does not depend only on Serbia”

German analyst and Western Balkans expert Franz-Lothar Altmann is skeptical that Serbia will get a date for the start of the EU talks in June.

Izvor: Beta

Wednesday, 27.03.2013.

09:16

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BELGRADE German analyst and Western Balkans expert Franz-Lothar Altmann is skeptical that Serbia will get a date for the start of the EU talks in June. He believes Serbia will not get the date in June even though majority of the EU members believe it should. Decision on EU talks date “does not depend only on Serbia” “That does not only depend on Belgrade’s readiness to comply with requests but also on the interpretation of the European Commission and EU member states whether the will to normalize relations with Kosovo is satisfactory or not,” Atlmann told daily Danas. He reiterated that one should bear in mind that it was necessary to get the green light from all the EU members in order to close every chapter in the negotiations. The German analyst added that it allowed countries to block the EU accession negotiations at any moment – for a certain amount of time or forever. According to Altmann, Pristina is frustrated and it is possible that Kosovo would block an agreement. “The Kosovo side is planning on calling for Marti Ahtisaari’s so-called comprehensive plan they claim they are already implementing. On the other hand, the Serbia side will maybe be ready for partial concessions in order to get a date for the beginning of the EU accession negotiations,” he explained. Atlmann noted that a general opinion in the EU was that the Serbian government had made much bigger progress than the previous one, especially when it comes to the payment of customs duty and other taxes on the crossings between Kosovo and central Serbia. “New, positive voices are dominant in Berlin because (First Deputy PM Aleksandar) Vucic has shown pro-European positions. However, news that Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic at the same time awarded the top-rank medals to politicians such as Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko has caused confusion. Some people wonder who is in charge in Belgrade and if pro-European orientation that Vucic so eloquently presented in Berlin is the main direction of the Serbian policy,” Altmann concluded. (B92, file) Beta Danas

Decision on EU talks date “does not depend only on Serbia”

“That does not only depend on Belgrade’s readiness to comply with requests but also on the interpretation of the European Commission and EU member states whether the will to normalize relations with Kosovo is satisfactory or not,” Atlmann told daily Danas.

He reiterated that one should bear in mind that it was necessary to get the green light from all the EU members in order to close every chapter in the negotiations.

The German analyst added that it allowed countries to block the EU accession negotiations at any moment – for a certain amount of time or forever.

According to Altmann, Priština is frustrated and it is possible that Kosovo would block an agreement.

“The Kosovo side is planning on calling for Marti Ahtisaari’s so-called comprehensive plan they claim they are already implementing. On the other hand, the Serbia side will maybe be ready for partial concessions in order to get a date for the beginning of the EU accession negotiations,” he explained.

Atlmann noted that a general opinion in the EU was that the Serbian government had made much bigger progress than the previous one, especially when it comes to the payment of customs duty and other taxes on the crossings between Kosovo and central Serbia.

“New, positive voices are dominant in Berlin because (First Deputy PM Aleksandar) Vučić has shown pro-European positions. However, news that Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić at the same time awarded the top-rank medals to politicians such as Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko has caused confusion. Some people wonder who is in charge in Belgrade and if pro-European orientation that Vučić so eloquently presented in Berlin is the main direction of the Serbian policy,” Altmann concluded.

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