“We won’t be blackmailed into giving up national interests”

Serbian Deputy PM Bozidar Djelic says those who believe Serbia can be blackmailed into giving up its national interests in exchange for EU integration are wrong. He believes that on October 12 the European Commission (EC) should recommend to all EU member countries to give Serbia candidate status, but that a starting date for EU accession talks was unlikely. “We won’t be blackmailed into giving up national interests” "If it follows the Copenhagen criteria, there is no doubt the EC should recommend status. If it does not, it will show the European path has lost a good part of its own integrity," the deputy prime minister told Belgrade-based daily Vecernje novosti. Djelic repeated his earlier promise to resign should Serbia not get candidate status. When asked if it was possible for the EC to recommend the status, and for the EU member countries to decide differently in December due to the situation in Kosovo, he said this would lead to major division inside the EU, as many countries believed Serbia had done a lot and was not responsible for the recent events in northern Kosovo. Commenting on the fact Kosovo customs and police officers have been posted to the administrative crossings and the claim they will be just passive observers, the deputy prime minister stressed: "If this is true, why even post them there? It is not in the European spirit to avoid dialogue on such an important topic, and it is definitely not true that the agreement on the customs stamp included the organization of the crossings, who would be posted there and how customs revenue would be divided. In the presidential statement from the UN Security Council, this issue is one of the six items we need to agree on." He still believes that regardless of the how difficult and unjust the situation is, the solution is not for Serbia to say "a historic no" and become isolated. "This would only weaken Serbia and strengthen its opponents. We need to continue our European path without illusions and return to dialogue on Kosovo," Djelic was quoted as saying. Bozidar Djelic (Beta, file)

“We won’t be blackmailed into giving up national interests”

"If it follows the Copenhagen criteria, there is no doubt the EC should recommend status. If it does not, it will show the European path has lost a good part of its own integrity," the deputy prime minister told Belgrade-based daily Večernje novosti.

Đelić repeated his earlier promise to resign should Serbia not get candidate status.

When asked if it was possible for the EC to recommend the status, and for the EU member countries to decide differently in December due to the situation in Kosovo, he said this would lead to major division inside the EU, as many countries believed Serbia had done a lot and was not responsible for the recent events in northern Kosovo.

Commenting on the fact Kosovo customs and police officers have been posted to the administrative crossings and the claim they will be just passive observers, the deputy prime minister stressed:

"If this is true, why even post them there? It is not in the European spirit to avoid dialogue on such an important topic, and it is definitely not true that the agreement on the customs stamp included the organization of the crossings, who would be posted there and how customs revenue would be divided. In the presidential statement from the UN Security Council, this issue is one of the six items we need to agree on."

He still believes that regardless of the how difficult and unjust the situation is, the solution is not for Serbia to say "a historic no" and become isolated.

"This would only weaken Serbia and strengthen its opponents. We need to continue our European path without illusions and return to dialogue on Kosovo," Đelić was quoted as saying.