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Labus begins two-day visit to Germany

Belgrade/Berlin, 8 April 2005

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus began his two-day visit to Berlin with a meeting with political director of the German Federal Foreign Office Michael Schaefer.

Miroljub Labus

The Deputy Prime Minister will also have talks today with German Vice-Minister of Economy and Labour Ditmar Staffelt, President of the Committee for Eastern European Economic Relations (BDI) Klaus Mangold, as well as foreign policy advisor to the German Chancellor Bernd Mützelburg.

They will discuss improving overall relations, especially economic, between the two countries, the political situation in the region, creating conditions for rapid integration of Serbia into European structures, and encouraging German investments in Serbia.

Labus, who ended his two-day visit to France yesterday, stated that if the European Commission positively assesses the Feasibility Study on April 12, France will support the creation of a framework for negotiations on concluding the agreement on stabilisation and association at the ministerial meeting on April 25.

In a statement to the Tanjug agency after talks in the French Senate, the National Assembly, the cabinet of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and the Foreign Ministry, Labus said that this next phase on the path towards European integrations is conditioned by cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY), so that several other departures for The Hague can be expected by that date.

Minister for European Affairs Claudie Haigneré underlined after talks with Labus that France has always been in favour of an accelerated European perspective of the West Balkans and assessed that considerable progress towards its European future has been achieved in Serbia. She added that the process of stabilisation and association with the EU is long and difficult and that time is needed before trust can be established between partners.

The Serbian Deputy Prime Minister said that these matters were also discussed with diplomatic advisor to French President Jacques Chirac Maurice Gourdault-Montagne and European Affairs Advisor to Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin Pascale Andreani, who announced that she would visit Serbia.

French officials expressed hope that the state union would survive, said Labus and added that he was not opposed to this provided that it is a functional union promoting the country’s European integration. For now it is important that this issue has been put on hold for a time and that it is not an obstacle for the agreement on stabilisation and association, emphasised the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister.

Labus said that during talks with French officials they expressed satisfaction because ministers of EU countries have accepted the general formula “less than full independence, more than autonomy” regarding the future status of Kosovo, which existed prior to 1989. He underlined that France is ready to offer legal support because a solution needs to be found.

Labus also had talks with director of the Movement of French Enterprises (MEDEF) François Perigot, who offered technical support to the system of Serbian chambers of commerce and announced that a delegation of French investors would visit the country at the end of the month.