President Tadić on EU bid, ICJ decision

Serbian President Boris Tadic has stated that he expects Serbia's EU integration to be "accelerated" in the fall. Speaking in the northern town of Zrenjanin today, Tadic said that he believed Serbia and the Western Balkans must join the EU "a lot sooner than 2020", so that the European integration plan would be sustainable and the region's stability preserved. President Tadic on EU bid, ICJ decision "The prolonging and the creation of an artificial deadline for Serbia's EU accession after 2020 is not an option for the country. Every plan that envisages that this will happen after 2020 is unrealistic," Tadic told journalists. Tadic was also quoted as saying that he believed the EU "still wants the Western Balkans to become its part, despite the fact thatthe signals that we receive are not always optimistic". He added that he was aware that the EU was facing the effects of the global economic crisis, and that the EU citizens do not consider this a positive aspect for further EU enlargement. "However, I believe that artificial blockades will end and that Serbia's EU integration will continue and be accelerated in the fall," Tadic said. Speaking about the ICJ ruling in the Kosovo case, expected tomorrow at The Hague, the president said he expected that the UN court would deliver an opinion stating that Kosovo's Albanians did not have the right to an ethnically motivated secession. Tadic noted he expects the ICJ decision to be fair and according to the principles of international law. "If the ICJ decision were to establish a precedent, new countries would spring all over the world, which would destabilize many regions," Tadic told reporters in Zrenjanin. When asked "if the EU wished to prepare a UN resolution with Serbia" that would be presented after the ICJ decision, Tadic said the EU wanted to cooperate regarding Serbia's reaction to the ICJ decision, but Serbia had set some red lines for itself that it would not cross - "for they represented Serbia's integrity in Kosovo". "We communicate with the EU as partners and as a country wishing to become an EU member, but I have also informed our European friends that Serbia has its own principles, which it will not give up on," said Tadic.

President Tadić on EU bid, ICJ decision

"The prolonging and the creation of an artificial deadline for Serbia's EU accession after 2020 is not an option for the country. Every plan that envisages that this will happen after 2020 is unrealistic," Tadić told journalists.

Tadić was also quoted as saying that he believed the EU "still wants the Western Balkans to become its part, despite the fact thatthe signals that we receive are not always optimistic".

He added that he was aware that the EU was facing the effects of the global economic crisis, and that the EU citizens do not consider this a positive aspect for further EU enlargement.

"However, I believe that artificial blockades will end and that Serbia's EU integration will continue and be accelerated in the fall," Tadić said.

Speaking about the ICJ ruling in the Kosovo case, expected tomorrow at The Hague, the president said he expected that the UN court would deliver an opinion stating that Kosovo's Albanians did not have the right to an ethnically motivated secession.

Tadić noted he expects the ICJ decision to be fair and according to the principles of international law.

"If the ICJ decision were to establish a precedent, new countries would spring all over the world, which would destabilize many regions," Tadić told reporters in Zrenjanin.

When asked "if the EU wished to prepare a UN resolution with Serbia" that would be presented after the ICJ decision, Tadić said the EU wanted to cooperate regarding Serbia's reaction to the ICJ decision, but Serbia had set some red lines for itself that it would not cross - "for they represented Serbia's integrity in Kosovo".

"We communicate with the EU as partners and as a country wishing to become an EU member, but I have also informed our European friends that Serbia has its own principles, which it will not give up on," said Tadić.