Tadić calls for national consensus on EU

Serbian President Boris Tadic has called for a national consensus on Serbia's EU integration in an interview given to Belgrade media. He added that it would be a "tragic failure" if the country failed to get the status of a candidate for EU membership by the end of the year. Tadic calls for national consensus on EU He told the Vecernje Novosti daily that the candidate status was a turning point followed by an even more important one - the start of the accession negotiations. Serbia's path to the EU will be irreversible after that, he noted. "Once we accomplish those two goals, investments in the country will go up a lot. We will simply not be the same country anymore," he stated, adding that countries are treated differently by investors if they are in the middle of the EU accession negotiations. Serbia must not lose any time in adopting the laws needed to move forward with its EU integration, he noted, adding that the final deadline was September. The parliament is currently discussing a set of judicial bills that are crucial for the justice reform, he remarked. It is the most important type of reform right now, because it is the basis for combating crime and corruption, Tadic explained. When asked about the talks between Serbia and Kosovo and Kosovo's insisting that it was dialogue "between two countries", while Serbia is saying that Kosovo's status would eventually be on the agenda, Tadic said that such an approach was expected from Pristina. However, Belgrade has no time for that aspect of the process, he added. "Everyone knows that we have not and will not recognize Kosovo's independence. We entered this dialogue intending to settle an age-old conflict between the two peoples, for we must leave conflicts behind us. The EU does not want new conflicts brought into it and a delay in solving historical disputes is also very harmful to us," Tadic concluded. Boris Tadic (FoNet, file) Not below minimum Boris Tadic stated that the state-owned Telekom Srbija telecommunications company will not be sold below EUR 1.4bn, although many people are criticizing the government in advance, saying that it is prepared to do such a thing. “In keeping with the law, the government has opened talks with the bidder as to whether the desired price can be achieved. The bidder has not replied yet. If they accept the price, the government will provide a positive answer. If they do not accept the price, I am sure that our answer will not be positive,” Tadic said in an interview for the Thursday edition of the Belgrade-based daily Novosti. Tadic noted that it would be difficult to achieve a comparatively high price for Telekom since the company's impact is regional rather than global. “Telekom has this price today, but in the long run, competing with global companies is not a possibility. In a two or three years' time, we could easily face the situation in which Telekom could be taken over for much less money, and who would then be to blame for the fact that the country did not realise the potential it has now, while it is still there,” Tadic said. According to Tadic, decisions need to be made at right moments, and now it is such a time, although the government has more harm than benefit from it, since a great part of citizens is confused by the general anxiety and does not welcome the decision.

Tadić calls for national consensus on EU

He told the Večernje Novosti daily that the candidate status was a turning point followed by an even more important one - the start of the accession negotiations. Serbia's path to the EU will be irreversible after that, he noted.

"Once we accomplish those two goals, investments in the country will go up a lot. We will simply not be the same country anymore," he stated, adding that countries are treated differently by investors if they are in the middle of the EU accession negotiations.

Serbia must not lose any time in adopting the laws needed to move forward with its EU integration, he noted, adding that the final deadline was September.

The parliament is currently discussing a set of judicial bills that are crucial for the justice reform, he remarked. It is the most important type of reform right now, because it is the basis for combating crime and corruption, Tadić explained.

When asked about the talks between Serbia and Kosovo and Kosovo's insisting that it was dialogue "between two countries", while Serbia is saying that Kosovo's status would eventually be on the agenda, Tadić said that such an approach was expected from Pristina. However, Belgrade has no time for that aspect of the process, he added.

"Everyone knows that we have not and will not recognize Kosovo's independence. We entered this dialogue intending to settle an age-old conflict between the two peoples, for we must leave conflicts behind us. The EU does not want new conflicts brought into it and a delay in solving historical disputes is also very harmful to us," Tadić concluded.

Not below minimum

Boris Tadić stated that the state-owned Telekom Srbija telecommunications company will not be sold below EUR 1.4bn, although many people are criticizing the government in advance, saying that it is prepared to do such a thing.

“In keeping with the law, the government has opened talks with the bidder as to whether the desired price can be achieved. The bidder has not replied yet. If they accept the price, the government will provide a positive answer. If they do not accept the price, I am sure that our answer will not be positive,” Tadić said in an interview for the Thursday edition of the Belgrade-based daily Novosti.

Tadić noted that it would be difficult to achieve a comparatively high price for Telekom since the company's impact is regional rather than global.

“Telekom has this price today, but in the long run, competing with global companies is not a possibility. In a two or three years' time, we could easily face the situation in which Telekom could be taken over for much less money, and who would then be to blame for the fact that the country did not realise the potential it has now, while it is still there,” Tadić said.

According to Tadić, decisions need to be made at right moments, and now it is such a time, although the government has more harm than benefit from it, since a great part of citizens is confused by the general anxiety and does not welcome the decision.