Belgrade to decide on EU’s offer by April 9

BELGRADE Belgrade has five days left to decide whether it will accept Brussels’ offer on Kosovo. Top officials say that a decision will have to be made by April 9. “At this point I cannot say what our response will be because top state officials will again consult on it,” Serbian Prime Minster Ivica Dacic said on Wednesday. Belgrade to decide on EU’s offer by April 9 First Deputy PM Aleksandar Vucic has stated that Serbia needs to choose between two equally disastrous solutions – to accept or reject a bad solution. “We are currently between a rock and a hard place,” he told Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) on Wednesday night. The Serbian negotiating team attended an emergency meeting of the senior state officials immediately after their return from Brussels on Wednesday. EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said after the eighth round of the talks that this was the last formal meeting while her Spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said that it was possible to hold another meeting. It is still unknown what Brussels offered to Belgrade but daily Danas writes that Ashton proposed some kind of Erdut Agreement with an interim EU administration for northern Kosovo. This means that the north would temporarily have a different status in the community of Serb municipalities until it accepted Kosovo’s laws, the daily writes. Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci stated that despite difficulties in the dialogue it could not be considered “over or failed” and expressed hope that “Belgrade will accept reality and the agreement”. He noted that Kosovo and the EU fully agreed and that Belgrade had requested additional time for consultations. He reiterated that the “association” of Serb municipalities needed to be in accordance with Kosovo’s Constitution and laws and that it would not have executive or legislative powers. The failure of the eighth round of the talks has reopened talks about early parliamentary elections in Serbia, daily Blic writes. The daily stressed that President Tomislav Nikolic had recently said that the early elections were possible if no agreement was reached in Brussels. Ivica Dacic and Aleksandar Vucic (Beta, file) B92

Belgrade to decide on EU’s offer by April 9

First Deputy PM Aleksandar Vučić has stated that Serbia needs to choose between two equally disastrous solutions – to accept or reject a bad solution.

“We are currently between a rock and a hard place,” he told Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) on Wednesday night.

The Serbian negotiating team attended an emergency meeting of the senior state officials immediately after their return from Brussels on Wednesday.

EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said after the eighth round of the talks that this was the last formal meeting while her Spokeswoman Maja Kocijančič said that it was possible to hold another meeting.

It is still unknown what Brussels offered to Belgrade but daily Danas writes that Ashton proposed some kind of Erdut Agreement with an interim EU administration for northern Kosovo.

This means that the north would temporarily have a different status in the community of Serb municipalities until it accepted Kosovo’s laws, the daily writes.

Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci stated that despite difficulties in the dialogue it could not be considered “over or failed” and expressed hope that “Belgrade will accept reality and the agreement”.

He noted that Kosovo and the EU fully agreed and that Belgrade had requested additional time for consultations. He reiterated that the “association” of Serb municipalities needed to be in accordance with Kosovo’s Constitution and laws and that it would not have executive or legislative powers.

The failure of the eighth round of the talks has reopened talks about early parliamentary elections in Serbia, daily Blic writes. The daily stressed that President Tomislav Nikolić had recently said that the early elections were possible if no agreement was reached in Brussels.