EU: Candidate status maybe next year

EU officials say that Serbia may be eligible for EU candidate status in 2009. The statement came during talks with Serbian officials in Brussels. EU: Candidate status maybe next year After meeting President Boris Tadic and the delegation from Belgrade, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso stated that, in his opinion, if Serbia met all the necessary conditions, it could receive candidate status in 2009. However, Barroso added that Serbia could not apply for membership before the EU Council of Ministers gives the green light for the beginning of the process of ratification of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) in EU countries. The EU insists that this decision depends on Serbia’s full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal and the arrest and extradition of the remaining fugitives, particularly Ratko Mladic. The EC president repeated that he had been impressed by the arrest of Radovan Karadzic, which he called a “turning point” in Serbia’s relations with the Tribunal. He said that the EU had to respect that act, and that the readiness expressed by the government in Belgrade to cooperate with the court should be reflected in relations with the EU. Barroso said that he thought the conditions had been met to allow the interim deal, signed in April but left unratified until Serbia achieved full cooperation with the Hague, to enter into force. Tadic said that he was pleased with the talks in Brussels, adding that he had conveyed to EU officials that the agreement’s entry into force was Serbia’s number one priority. The others, he said, were Belgrade’s plans to receive candidate status as soon as possible and Serbian citizens’ wish to be placed on the White Schengen List in 2009. The president called on the EU to take concrete steps to show that Serbia was welcome in that organization. He added that Belgrade was determined in its intention to extradite the remaining fugitives to The Hague. “As soon as we find them, they’ll be extradited the next day,” he said in response to a journalist’s question. Tadic said that he had told his colleagues in Brussels that “Serbia is not giving up on Kosovo and it will not recognize Kosovo independence.” The president added that Serbia was determined to proceed with its initiative to ask the International Court of Justice for its consultative opinion on the province’s independence declaration. “We didn’t want to apply force in Kosovo, even though independence is illegal, we didn’t introduce an economic blockade,” he stressed, adding that Belgrade had decided to use purely legal means in its fight for Kosovo. The other members of the Serbian delegation are Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic. Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic had been due to join them, but he had to stay in Belgrade to attend a parliamentary debate on the SAA ratification. Tadic, Barroso in Brussels today (Tanjug) Jeremic-Kouchner as prelude The French Foreign Ministry says that Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic on Paris on Tuesday that France was determined to help Serbia on its path towards a European future, and praised Belgrade for its progress in cooperation with the The Hague Tribunal. The Foreign Ministry said that France, as the current EU presiding country, wanted to establish a relation of trust with the Serbian government. “This new contact between Kouchner and his Serbian counterpart testifies to our intention to strengthen ties between our two countries,” the French Foreign Ministry said.

EU: Candidate status maybe next year

After meeting President Boris Tadić and the delegation from Belgrade, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso stated that, in his opinion, if Serbia met all the necessary conditions, it could receive candidate status in 2009.

However, Barroso added that Serbia could not apply for membership before the EU Council of Ministers gives the green light for the beginning of the process of ratification of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) in EU countries.

The EU insists that this decision depends on Serbia’s full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal and the arrest and extradition of the remaining fugitives, particularly Ratko Mladić.

The EC president repeated that he had been impressed by the arrest of Radovan Karadžić, which he called a “turning point” in Serbia’s relations with the Tribunal.

He said that the EU had to respect that act, and that the readiness expressed by the government in Belgrade to cooperate with the court should be reflected in relations with the EU.

Barroso said that he thought the conditions had been met to allow the interim deal, signed in April but left unratified until Serbia achieved full cooperation with the Hague, to enter into force.

Tadić said that he was pleased with the talks in Brussels, adding that he had conveyed to EU officials that the agreement’s entry into force was Serbia’s number one priority.

The others, he said, were Belgrade’s plans to receive candidate status as soon as possible and Serbian citizens’ wish to be placed on the White Schengen List in 2009.

The president called on the EU to take concrete steps to show that Serbia was welcome in that organization.

He added that Belgrade was determined in its intention to extradite the remaining fugitives to The Hague. “As soon as we find them, they’ll be extradited the next day,” he said in response to a journalist’s question.

Tadić said that he had told his colleagues in Brussels that “Serbia is not giving up on Kosovo and it will not recognize Kosovo independence.”

The president added that Serbia was determined to proceed with its initiative to ask the International Court of Justice for its consultative opinion on the province’s independence declaration.

“We didn’t want to apply force in Kosovo, even though independence is illegal, we didn’t introduce an economic blockade,” he stressed, adding that Belgrade had decided to use purely legal means in its fight for Kosovo.

The other members of the Serbian delegation are Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić.

Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Đelić had been due to join them, but he had to stay in Belgrade to attend a parliamentary debate on the SAA ratification.

Jeremić-Kouchner as prelude

The French Foreign Ministry says that Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremić on Paris on Tuesday that France was determined to help Serbia on its path towards a European future, and praised Belgrade for its progress in cooperation with the The Hague Tribunal.

The Foreign Ministry said that France, as the current EU presiding country, wanted to establish a relation of trust with the Serbian government.

“This new contact between Kouchner and his Serbian counterpart testifies to our intention to strengthen ties between our two countries,” the French Foreign Ministry said.