“EU candidate status depends on Serbia”

My stance on Serbia's EU candidate status is the same as EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule's, Head of the EU delegation to Serbia Vincent Degert says. “However now it depends solely on Serbia whether it will archive the status by the end of the year,” he added. “EU candidate status depends on Serbia” Degert told Tanjug that the process of the EU integration depended on the speed and intensity of Serbia's reforms, adding that 2011 was the year of opportunities and that it was up to Serbia to use them. “Commissioner Fule and I said exactly the same thing. The whole process depends on Serbia's capacity and the speed of the reforms,” he underlined. He said that the reforms in Serbia should be implemented for the sake of the citizens, adding that the assessment of the reform process would focus on concrete results. Degert stated that the European Commission needed to be assured that Serbia had fulfilled all the prerequisites, and that this should be followed by the opinion of all 27 EU member states. Commenting on the recently opened dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, the head of the EU delegation to Serbia underlined that all parties in the dialogue should be honest and constructive, and that the results were more than needed. He pointed to the issues of cadastres, electricity and telecommunications, stressing that the results of the dialogue should provide direct aid to the people who lived in Kosovo and create an atmosphere which would enable progress. Vincent Degert

“EU candidate status depends on Serbia”

Degert told Tanjug that the process of the EU integration depended on the speed and intensity of Serbia's reforms, adding that 2011 was the year of opportunities and that it was up to Serbia to use them.

“Commissioner Fule and I said exactly the same thing. The whole process depends on Serbia's capacity and the speed of the reforms,” he underlined.

He said that the reforms in Serbia should be implemented for the sake of the citizens, adding that the assessment of the reform process would focus on concrete results.

Degert stated that the European Commission needed to be assured that Serbia had fulfilled all the prerequisites, and that this should be followed by the opinion of all 27 EU member states.

Commenting on the recently opened dialogue between Belgrade and Priština, the head of the EU delegation to Serbia underlined that all parties in the dialogue should be honest and constructive, and that the results were more than needed.

He pointed to the issues of cadastres, electricity and telecommunications, stressing that the results of the dialogue should provide direct aid to the people who lived in Kosovo and create an atmosphere which would enable progress.