No new conditions, says Italian ambassador

Recognizing Kosovo can't be a condition for Serbia to join the EU since some member-states have not done that either, says Italian Ambassador Alessandro Merola. "So far, no one in Brussels has ever mentioned the possibility that a condition will be put before Serbia to recognize Kosovo," he told the Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti in an interview published on Saturday. No new conditions, says Italian ambassador "Italy has always supported Serbia's road to the EU, and that of the entire Balkans. After Bulgaria and Romania joined, the Western Balkans has become a black hole on the map of Europe. The Serbian EU entry would therefore be important for the whole region." "We think that the cooperation with the Hague Tribunal is Serbia's duty," Merola then addressed the condition officially set for Belgrade to fulfill, in order to pursue its EU ambition. "But we need to know exactly what the definition of 'full cooperation' is. This is what I talked about with Chief Hague Prosecutor Serge Brammertz during his recent visit: does 'full cooperation' mean Mladic and Hadzic is jail, or does it mean the will and all the efforts that exist in Serbia to cooperate with the tribunal." "Of course, Italy would like to see Mladic in prison, but it is important that there is a desire to arrest him, and that everything is being done to do so. Brammertz himself admitted there was progress in cooperation with the Hague. It is therefore necessary to start somewhere, to start implementing the Interim Agreement. We do not know whether the candidate status will be [obtained] in 2009, 2010, or 2015. But, it's important to move in the right direction," the ambassador said in reference to the Interim Trade Agreement – a part of the SAA, signed between Brussels and Belgrade in late April, and suspended immediately, pending Serbia's full cooperation with the UN war crimes court in The Hague. Asked whether Holland's staunch position that the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) cannot be implemented before Ratko Mladic has been extradited is "too hard", Merola said that "many EU countries are trying to persuade Holland to be more flexible". When the reporter remarked that it is clear to everyone that Serbia will never recognize the Kosovo Albanian declaration, the Italian diplomat said that "history has proven that many things can be solved in Brussels". "The idea is to solve problems one by one. The very difficult issue of EULEX is now on the right path. Ban Ki-moon's report contains the six points requested by Belgrade, and EULEX's neutrality on the question of Kosovo's status has been confirmed. It is now very important to start with the mission's deployment. We believe that this should happen with a realistic approach from all interested sides". Asked whether a positive International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in Belgrade's request to determine the legality of the Kosovo Albanian proclamation could cause some countries to withdraw their recognitions, Merola said, "we do not know what the court will say: that the independence in legal, illegal, or semi-legal". "Now we cannot speak about withdrawals of recognitions, let's wait and see what the court says. Italy, like other EU countries, abstained in the UN General Assembly voting. We'll see, we'll wait for the court's decision." Another Belgrade ambition – to have the country put on the so-called White Schengen List, relating to the EU visa regime imposed on Serbia – will depend on the conditions defined previously in a road map, Merola said. When it comes to his country's automaker Fiat and its operations in Serbia, the ambassador said the company has "a very clear program" and that it expects to start producing small A-class cars in 2010. "Still, it is not all up to Fiat. The Serb side will have to play a significant role. The railroad infrastructure needs to be worked on, as well as the power grid and highway linkage of Nis and Kragujevac. All is going well so far, the agreement is being implemented and we expect production to start on time." Merola also appraised that relations between Serbia and Italy are seeing improvements "in all fields", and singled out economic cooperation as the most successful.

No new conditions, says Italian ambassador

"Italy has always supported Serbia's road to the EU, and that of the entire Balkans. After Bulgaria and Romania joined, the Western Balkans has become a black hole on the map of Europe. The Serbian EU entry would therefore be important for the whole region."

"We think that the cooperation with the Hague Tribunal is Serbia's duty," Merola then addressed the condition officially set for Belgrade to fulfill, in order to pursue its EU ambition.

"But we need to know exactly what the definition of 'full cooperation' is. This is what I talked about with Chief Hague Prosecutor Serge Brammertz during his recent visit: does 'full cooperation' mean Mladić and Hadžić is jail, or does it mean the will and all the efforts that exist in Serbia to cooperate with the tribunal."

"Of course, Italy would like to see Mladić in prison, but it is important that there is a desire to arrest him, and that everything is being done to do so. Brammertz himself admitted there was progress in cooperation with the Hague. It is therefore necessary to start somewhere, to start implementing the Interim Agreement. We do not know whether the candidate status will be [obtained] in 2009, 2010, or 2015. But, it's important to move in the right direction," the ambassador said in reference to the Interim Trade Agreement – a part of the SAA, signed between Brussels and Belgrade in late April, and suspended immediately, pending Serbia's full cooperation with the UN war crimes court in The Hague.

Asked whether Holland's staunch position that the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) cannot be implemented before Ratko Mladić has been extradited is "too hard", Merola said that "many EU countries are trying to persuade Holland to be more flexible".

When the reporter remarked that it is clear to everyone that Serbia will never recognize the Kosovo Albanian declaration, the Italian diplomat said that "history has proven that many things can be solved in Brussels".

"The idea is to solve problems one by one. The very difficult issue of EULEX is now on the right path. Ban Ki-moon's report contains the six points requested by Belgrade, and EULEX's neutrality on the question of Kosovo's status has been confirmed. It is now very important to start with the mission's deployment. We believe that this should happen with a realistic approach from all interested sides".

Asked whether a positive International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in Belgrade's request to determine the legality of the Kosovo Albanian proclamation could cause some countries to withdraw their recognitions, Merola said, "we do not know what the court will say: that the independence in legal, illegal, or semi-legal".

"Now we cannot speak about withdrawals of recognitions, let's wait and see what the court says. Italy, like other EU countries, abstained in the UN General Assembly voting. We'll see, we'll wait for the court's decision."

Another Belgrade ambition – to have the country put on the so-called White Schengen List, relating to the EU visa regime imposed on Serbia – will depend on the conditions defined previously in a road map, Merola said.

When it comes to his country's automaker Fiat and its operations in Serbia, the ambassador said the company has "a very clear program" and that it expects to start producing small A-class cars in 2010.

"Still, it is not all up to Fiat. The Serb side will have to play a significant role. The railroad infrastructure needs to be worked on, as well as the power grid and highway linkage of Niš and Kragujevac. All is going well so far, the agreement is being implemented and we expect production to start on time."

Merola also appraised that relations between Serbia and Italy are seeing improvements "in all fields", and singled out economic cooperation as the most successful.