Koštunica: SAA breaking Serbia up

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, DSS, believes that the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) leads to the breakup of Serbia. "I cannot understand how someone can think that Kosovo will be better protected once it is given up," the leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) told the daily Politika in an interview published today. Kostunica: SAA breaking Serbia up "Personally, I have referred to the act of signing of the SAA as anti-Constitutional and anti-state," Kostunica continued. "Europe is not paradise, Europe is a necessity, but it makes no sense to expect that milk and honey will flow if SAA is signed, or after joining the EU." "Besides, no country ever secured a better standard of living for its citizens by surrendering its territory. This is a road toward Serbia's puppet status, that leads only to further fragmenting of our country," Kostunica warned. Adding that "we all know the story about a bird in and", the prime minister said Serbia's "bird in hand" was the energy deal with Russia and the Horgos-Pozega concession. "That's over EUR 4bn that we pushed aside," he told the newspaper. This Saturday, Kostunica was touring the Avala television tower construction site when he said that "the Tadic-Djelic signature is not Serbia's signature, and it will undoubtedly be annulled by the new government and parliament", and added that the SAA indirectly recognized Kosovo. He once again raised the issue of the identity of Tadic's special envoy that Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen recently said told him it was Kostunica who was blocking the Hague cooperation. "I don't know who the special representative is, that's why I'm asking the question publicly. It's a disgrace for a county to have the president's special envoy appraise and inform about the prime minister to a foreign country, without any basis in fact whatsoever," Kostunica said. The issue of post-election cooperation with President Boris Tadic's Democrats (DS), he said, is an issue of two completely different policies, with "essential differences surfacing in the meantime". "This is not about [Nenad] Canak, this is about our common policy ceasing to exist at one point, and it was for this reason that I suggested new elections," he said of the coalition with the DS and G17 Plus in the now caretaker government. "G17 Plus now says that to claim that Kosovo is Serbia is tantamount to insanity, just as is advocating preservation of the territorial integrity. So what's there to talk about with them, after all this?", Kostunica said. The parliamentary and local elections in Serbia will take place in just over a week's time, on May 11. Kostunica tours the reconstruction site of a television tower NATO bombed in 1999 (Tanjug)

Koštunica: SAA breaking Serbia up

"Personally, I have referred to the act of signing of the SAA as anti-Constitutional and anti-state," Koštunica continued.

"Europe is not paradise, Europe is a necessity, but it makes no sense to expect that milk and honey will flow if SAA is signed, or after joining the EU."

"Besides, no country ever secured a better standard of living for its citizens by surrendering its territory. This is a road toward Serbia's puppet status, that leads only to further fragmenting of our country," Koštunica warned.

Adding that "we all know the story about a bird in and", the prime minister said Serbia's "bird in hand" was the energy deal with Russia and the Horgoš-Požega concession.

"That's over EUR 4bn that we pushed aside," he told the newspaper.

This Saturday, Koštunica was touring the Avala television tower construction site when he said that "the Tadić-Đelić signature is not Serbia's signature, and it will undoubtedly be annulled by the new government and parliament", and added that the SAA indirectly recognized Kosovo.

He once again raised the issue of the identity of Tadić's special envoy that Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen recently said told him it was Koštunica who was blocking the Hague cooperation.

"I don't know who the special representative is, that's why I'm asking the question publicly. It's a disgrace for a county to have the president's special envoy appraise and inform about the prime minister to a foreign country, without any basis in fact whatsoever," Koštunica said.

The issue of post-election cooperation with President Boris Tadić's Democrats (DS), he said, is an issue of two completely different policies, with "essential differences surfacing in the meantime".

"This is not about [Nenad] Čanak, this is about our common policy ceasing to exist at one point, and it was for this reason that I suggested new elections," he said of the coalition with the DS and G17 Plus in the now caretaker government.

"G17 Plus now says that to claim that Kosovo is Serbia is tantamount to insanity, just as is advocating preservation of the territorial integrity. So what's there to talk about with them, after all this?", Koštunica said.

The parliamentary and local elections in Serbia will take place in just over a week's time, on May 11.