DS push for EU deal, DSS vows to halt it

Although Brussels looks unlikely to offer the SAA to Belgrade before the May 11 vote, political rivals are engaged in a fresh row over the agreement. President Boris Tadic, who is also the leader of the Democrats (DS), repeated today that Serbia has no alternative but to join the European Union. DS push for EU deal, DSS vows to halt it “The wrong political decision which would distance us from the European Union would lead Serbia to isolation, which would have unforeseeable economic consequences,” he said, as he visited the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) in Belgrade today. Tadic added that the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU would help in the fight for preserving Kosovo, "because the SAA calls for the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 to be respected". “The most important foreign policy goal of Serbia is EU integration and the most important internal policy is the fight for preserving our territorial integrity,” Tadic said at a meeting with PKS officials. "It is a difficult problem, the fact we have not signed this contract. It is a good thing that the government unanimously, and I repeat, unanimously, while it had full mandate, decided in favor of signing this contract, and appointed the person to do it." "It is fairly said that those who voted unanimously in favor of signing this contract are today saying that this should not be done. They are saying this, I am convinced, for campaign, rather than rational reasons," Tadic said of his former coalition partners, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS). In the meantime, high ranking DSS officials, who question the rush to sign the deal ahead of the ballot, and say it would force Serbia to "implicitly recognize Kosovo", held a news conference of their own, also in the capital. Zoran Loncar, one of the caretaker government ministers, said that the DS coalition can sign the SAA, but that there are legal mechanisms that will prevent its ratification and implementation. "If an attempt were made to illegally sign the SAA, legal mechanisms known to any law student will be put into operation," Loncar said. He added that the news about the possible April 28 signing of the agreement which is considered the first step toward EU membership, appeared after Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac, DS, "returned from a secret meeting with NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer". "NATO insists that the Canak-DS-G17 Plus coalition signs this agreement, so that they can says the signature means Serbia's recognition of Kosovo and Metohija's independence." "There are several legal mechanisms that will prevent any member of the government whose mandate has expired, including the deputy premier, to sign this," Loncar said. Earlier, the EU said the condition of full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal must be met by Belgrade before the deal, initialed in November 2007, can be signed.

DS push for EU deal, DSS vows to halt it

“The wrong political decision which would distance us from the European Union would lead Serbia to isolation, which would have unforeseeable economic consequences,” he said, as he visited the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) in Belgrade today.

Tadić added that the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU would help in the fight for preserving Kosovo, "because the SAA calls for the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 to be respected".

“The most important foreign policy goal of Serbia is EU integration and the most important internal policy is the fight for preserving our territorial integrity,” Tadić said at a meeting with PKS officials.

"It is a difficult problem, the fact we have not signed this contract. It is a good thing that the government unanimously, and I repeat, unanimously, while it had full mandate, decided in favor of signing this contract, and appointed the person to do it."

"It is fairly said that those who voted unanimously in favor of signing this contract are today saying that this should not be done. They are saying this, I am convinced, for campaign, rather than rational reasons," Tadić said of his former coalition partners, Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS).

In the meantime, high ranking DSS officials, who question the rush to sign the deal ahead of the ballot, and say it would force Serbia to "implicitly recognize Kosovo", held a news conference of their own, also in the capital.

Zoran Lončar, one of the caretaker government ministers, said that the DS coalition can sign the SAA, but that there are legal mechanisms that will prevent its ratification and implementation.

"If an attempt were made to illegally sign the SAA, legal mechanisms known to any law student will be put into operation," Lončar said.

He added that the news about the possible April 28 signing of the agreement which is considered the first step toward EU membership, appeared after Defense Minister Dragan Šutanovac, DS, "returned from a secret meeting with NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer".

"NATO insists that the Čanak-DS-G17 Plus coalition signs this agreement, so that they can says the signature means Serbia's recognition of Kosovo and Metohija's independence."

"There are several legal mechanisms that will prevent any member of the government whose mandate has expired, including the deputy premier, to sign this," Lončar said.

Earlier, the EU said the condition of full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal must be met by Belgrade before the deal, initialed in November 2007, can be signed.