PM: I didn’t promise EU membership

Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic says the government is working toward EU integration, but never promised that Serbia would join the EU by the end of his mandate. “In my expose, it was not stated that Serbia would enter the EU during the mandate of this government, but that it would move in that direction,” Cvetkovic said, answering questions from Democratic Party of Serbia MPs in parliament yesterday. PM: I didn’t promise EU membership Asked about the fight to preserve Kosovo, Cvetkovic said that Serbia was taking “all available peaceful and diplomatic measures to preserve the territorial integrity and sovereignty of this country.” Liberal Democratic Party official Ivan Andric asked the prime minister whether the government was interested in the situation at Radio Television Serbia, where, he said, the Broadcasting Law was being broken. Cvetkovic said that the government was interested in media events, but that it supported independent media and opposed mixing politics and the stations’ programming policies. “The media is a sensitive sector and getting involved in the work of the state broadcasting agency and the media immediately sparks suspicions that special plans are afoot,” Cvetkovic said, adding that that was why the government was “remaining passive while insisting on compliance with the law.” New Serbia official Srdjan Spasojevic asked whether there were plans to close the Serbian consulate in Lion, warning that if it was closed, it would cause major problems for many Serbs who live in that part of France. Cvetkovic said that this was a question for the Foreign Ministry. Energy Minister Petar Skundric fielded questions on the electricity problems in Serb villages in Kosovo, stating that the government, ministry and Elektroprivreda Srbije were doing all they could to ensure that all Serbs and non-Albanian had electricity. He said that the government was looking for “a technical solution for a normal supply of electricity for enclaves in Kosovo,” adding that Serbia’s offer to pay off electricity debts through donations for Serbs in central Kosovo had been rejected. Serb Progressive Party leader Tomislav Nikolic asked whether it is true that customs were now being charged at the Jarinje and Brnjak administrative crossings for products coming from central Serbia into Kosovo. He asked whether the government had signed an agreement with EULEX and allowed the Kosovo mission to “move out of neutrality status.” Kosovo Minister Goran Bodganovic replied that no one had signed any agreement with EULEX, and that the “only agreement signed“ with the international community in Kosovo had been in November 2001. Mirko Cvetkovic (FoNet, archive)

PM: I didn’t promise EU membership

Asked about the fight to preserve Kosovo, Cvetković said that Serbia was taking “all available peaceful and diplomatic measures to preserve the territorial integrity and sovereignty of this country.”

Liberal Democratic Party official Ivan Andrić asked the prime minister whether the government was interested in the situation at Radio Television Serbia, where, he said, the Broadcasting Law was being broken.

Cvetković said that the government was interested in media events, but that it supported independent media and opposed mixing politics and the stations’ programming policies.

“The media is a sensitive sector and getting involved in the work of the state broadcasting agency and the media immediately sparks suspicions that special plans are afoot,” Cvetković said, adding that that was why the government was “remaining passive while insisting on compliance with the law.”

New Serbia official Srđan Spasojević asked whether there were plans to close the Serbian consulate in Lion, warning that if it was closed, it would cause major problems for many Serbs who live in that part of France.

Cvetković said that this was a question for the Foreign Ministry.

Energy Minister Petar Škundrić fielded questions on the electricity problems in Serb villages in Kosovo, stating that the government, ministry and Elektroprivreda Srbije were doing all they could to ensure that all Serbs and non-Albanian had electricity.

He said that the government was looking for “a technical solution for a normal supply of electricity for enclaves in Kosovo,” adding that Serbia’s offer to pay off electricity debts through donations for Serbs in central Kosovo had been rejected.

Serb Progressive Party leader Tomislav Nikolić asked whether it is true that customs were now being charged at the Jarinje and Brnjak administrative crossings for products coming from central Serbia into Kosovo.

He asked whether the government had signed an agreement with EULEX and allowed the Kosovo mission to “move out of neutrality status.”

Kosovo Minister Goran Bodganović replied that no one had signed any agreement with EULEX, and that the “only agreement signed“ with the international community in Kosovo had been in November 2001.