"President has right to sign SAA"

The head of the Government office for European integration says President Boris Tadic has the right to sign the SAA. Tanja Miscevic told Novi Sad daily Dnevnik that the president did not require the approval of the government or any other institution to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA). "President has right to sign SAA" “The president can does this without any authorization or anyone’s approval. He can assume this commitment on the basis of international law, that’s to say the Vienna Convention, which stipulates that the president, prime minister and foreign minister have that right,” said Miscevic. She added that such a move would then need to be ratified in parliament. According to the government official, the EU would invite Serbia to sign the SAA provided it met all its obligations to the Hague Tribunal. “I fear we have started forgetting about that commitment,” Miscevic said. Meanwhile, Jelica Minic of the European Movement in Serbia said that postponing European integration would be fateful, and that other countries in the region would take advantage of this. “If the current situation in Serbia continues, the EU will give overwhelming support to Albania, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Montenegro to accelerate their integration, in order to prevent instability and conflict returning to the region,” Minic told daily Gradjanski List. She said that the majority of Serbian citizens “stubbornly” favored the European option. “But, a clear gap exists between the political classes and the citizens, and without creating a broader pro-democratic bloc in the long term, the European option will be seriously jeopardized,” Minic surmised. She felt that all the pro-European parties in Serbia should group together to increase their chances of receiving majority support in Serbia.

"President has right to sign SAA"

“The president can does this without any authorization or anyone’s approval. He can assume this commitment on the basis of international law, that’s to say the Vienna Convention, which stipulates that the president, prime minister and foreign minister have that right,” said Miščević.

She added that such a move would then need to be ratified in parliament.

According to the government official, the EU would invite Serbia to sign the SAA provided it met all its obligations to the Hague Tribunal.

“I fear we have started forgetting about that commitment,” Miščević said.

Meanwhile, Jelica Minić of the European Movement in Serbia said that postponing European integration would be fateful, and that other countries in the region would take advantage of this.

“If the current situation in Serbia continues, the EU will give overwhelming support to Albania, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Montenegro to accelerate their integration, in order to prevent instability and conflict returning to the region,” Minić told daily Građanski List.

She said that the majority of Serbian citizens “stubbornly” favored the European option.

“But, a clear gap exists between the political classes and the citizens, and without creating a broader pro-democratic bloc in the long term, the European option will be seriously jeopardized,” Minić surmised.

She felt that all the pro-European parties in Serbia should group together to increase their chances of receiving majority support in Serbia.