Jeremić: 2009 could be year of Europe

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic says that 2009 could be a year of the region's European integrations. "It will be primarily up to the EU and Serbia to see that this happens. If that relationship is such as we believe it should be, then 2009 could be a year of integrations for the Western Balkans," he told Fonet news agency in an interview on Sunday, adding that he thinks "it is not impossible" for Serbia to become an EU candidate in that period. Jeremic: 2009 could be year of Europe According to Jeremic, Serbia has, in a year that was extremely turbulent for the region, signed the SAA, making a big step toward EU integrations, despite the geostrategic circumstances that are unfavorable, with Europe facing an economic crisis and institutional problems related to the Lisbon Treaty. Asked whether this was also the year that saw the EU let Serbia down, Jeremic said he "would not put it that way", since this is "a fairly hard expression", but pointed out that the citizens' expectations when it comes to integrations are "rightly high". Jeremic also said that the government is determined to cooperate with the Hague Tribunal and that the institutions that have jurisdiction in the matter are doing all to finalize that cooperation, adding that there is no space for criticism of Belgrade in that context. "I hope that in 2009 there will be both a completion of Serbia's cooperation with the Hague Tribunal and important institutional steps toward achieving a full-fledged EU membership for our country." Asked whether any of his international interlocutors mentioned the possibility of putting the recognition of Kosovo as a condition for Serbia's EU membership, the foreign minister stressed that he cannot claim that something of the kind "was not on someone's mind", but noted that this was "never explicitly" said to Belgrade. The defense of sovereignty and territorial integrity is the defense of the constitutional order of Serbia, Jeremic said, adding that it will be the most important task ahead of any democratically elected government. According to him, while EU integrations are not in the Constitution, this government sees them as absolute priority that it will not desist from. "Some other government perhaps wouldn't have such priorities. While this government is in place, the defense of the constitutional order and continued European integrations will be the priorities it will not give up on." He also revealed that "at this point, there is severe pressure on some 50 countries to recognize Kosovo", and described the road ahead for Serbia as "incessant fight where we will use all available diplomatic resources". Jeremic stressed that the government is against a partition of Kosovo and that it expects the talks on the future status of this province to reopen. "We expect the International Court of Justice's opinion to be that Kosovo has declared independence violating international law," the minister said, and explained that such a ruling would create possibilities for a return to the negotiating table in order to reach a compromise that is in line with international law. Asked whether new Montenegrin and Macedonia ambassadors would be welcome in Belgrade, Jeremic said that should their countries suggest new names, Belgrade would carefully review their biographies, since the two countries decided to recognize Kosovo "at the worst possible moment, which contributed to a loss of trust". Jeremic is interviewed by FoNet on Sunday (FoNet)

Jeremić: 2009 could be year of Europe

According to Jeremić, Serbia has, in a year that was extremely turbulent for the region, signed the SAA, making a big step toward EU integrations, despite the geostrategic circumstances that are unfavorable, with Europe facing an economic crisis and institutional problems related to the Lisbon Treaty.

Asked whether this was also the year that saw the EU let Serbia down, Jeremić said he "would not put it that way", since this is "a fairly hard expression", but pointed out that the citizens' expectations when it comes to integrations are "rightly high".

Jeremić also said that the government is determined to cooperate with the Hague Tribunal and that the institutions that have jurisdiction in the matter are doing all to finalize that cooperation, adding that there is no space for criticism of Belgrade in that context.

"I hope that in 2009 there will be both a completion of Serbia's cooperation with the Hague Tribunal and important institutional steps toward achieving a full-fledged EU membership for our country."

Asked whether any of his international interlocutors mentioned the possibility of putting the recognition of Kosovo as a condition for Serbia's EU membership, the foreign minister stressed that he cannot claim that something of the kind "was not on someone's mind", but noted that this was "never explicitly" said to Belgrade.

The defense of sovereignty and territorial integrity is the defense of the constitutional order of Serbia, Jeremić said, adding that it will be the most important task ahead of any democratically elected government.

According to him, while EU integrations are not in the Constitution, this government sees them as absolute priority that it will not desist from.

"Some other government perhaps wouldn't have such priorities. While this government is in place, the defense of the constitutional order and continued European integrations will be the priorities it will not give up on."

He also revealed that "at this point, there is severe pressure on some 50 countries to recognize Kosovo", and described the road ahead for Serbia as "incessant fight where we will use all available diplomatic resources".

Jeremić stressed that the government is against a partition of Kosovo and that it expects the talks on the future status of this province to reopen.

"We expect the International Court of Justice's opinion to be that Kosovo has declared independence violating international law," the minister said, and explained that such a ruling would create possibilities for a return to the negotiating table in order to reach a compromise that is in line with international law.

Asked whether new Montenegrin and Macedonia ambassadors would be welcome in Belgrade, Jeremić said that should their countries suggest new names, Belgrade would carefully review their biographies, since the two countries decided to recognize Kosovo "at the worst possible moment, which contributed to a loss of trust".