"No obstacles to intergovernmental conference"

BELGRADE Minister Without Portfolio in charge of EU integration Branko Ruzic says he received ""clear support from Germany for Serbia's EU integration." Ruzic added that he "did not expect any obstructions to holding the first intergovernmental conference in the talks between Serbia and the EU." "No obstacles to intergovernmental conference" "We received a clear message that the intergovernmental conference is expected after the adoption of the framework for the negotiations, but that it is less important whether it will be in December or January. We did not notice any displeasure in terms of our commitment to the implementation of the Brussels agreement," Ruzic told Tanjug at the end of a visit to Berlin. Germany is not against Serbia's membership in the EU and does not wish to make the integration any more difficult, he noted. "German partners stated clearly they did not want a framework for the talks that would make Serbia's path to the EU harder, and that is something we agreed on. Also, they want a reformed Serbia and a normalization of the relations between Belgrade and Pristina, and that coincides with the Serbian government's strategic policy," Ruzic pointed out. German officials did not indicate that any kind of requirements could appear in the framework for the talks, which has to be approved by all the EU members, he said. "Germany also wants a framework for the negotiations that would make the process more dynamic," Ruzic remarked. One of the topics of the meetings in Berlin was the analysis of the situation after the local elections in Kosovo and the implementation of the Brussels agreement between Belgrade and Pristina. "The common denominator in the discussions was that the responsibility for the procedure falls on all three sides involved in the normalization of the relations, Belgrade, Pristina and Brussels," Ruzic said. Ruzic and Serbia's chief negotiator with the EU Tanjug Miscevic met with a number of high ranking officials of the German government and parliament in Berlin on Tuesday and Wednesday. Ruzic and Miscevic met with German chancellor's chief adviser for European affairs, Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Emily Haber and a number of other officials. (Tanjug, file) Tanjug

"No obstacles to intergovernmental conference"

"We received a clear message that the intergovernmental conference is expected after the adoption of the framework for the negotiations, but that it is less important whether it will be in December or January. We did not notice any displeasure in terms of our commitment to the implementation of the Brussels agreement," Ružić told Tanjug at the end of a visit to Berlin.

Germany is not against Serbia's membership in the EU and does not wish to make the integration any more difficult, he noted.

"German partners stated clearly they did not want a framework for the talks that would make Serbia's path to the EU harder, and that is something we agreed on. Also, they want a reformed Serbia and a normalization of the relations between Belgrade and Priština, and that coincides with the Serbian government's strategic policy," Ružić pointed out.

German officials did not indicate that any kind of requirements could appear in the framework for the talks, which has to be approved by all the EU members, he said.

"Germany also wants a framework for the negotiations that would make the process more dynamic," Ružić remarked.

One of the topics of the meetings in Berlin was the analysis of the situation after the local elections in Kosovo and the implementation of the Brussels agreement between Belgrade and Priština.

"The common denominator in the discussions was that the responsibility for the procedure falls on all three sides involved in the normalization of the relations, Belgrade, Pristina and Brussels," Ružić said.

Ružić and Serbia's chief negotiator with the EU Tanjug Miščević met with a number of high ranking officials of the German government and parliament in Berlin on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Ružić and Miscevic met with German chancellor's chief adviser for European affairs, Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Emily Haber and a number of other officials.