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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Positive feasibility study brings Serbia-Montenegro on European path

Belgrade, 12 April 2005

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has expressed satisfaction with the fact that the European Commission has approved the Feasibility Study for Serbia-Montenegro, adding that the country has taken the first and decisive step towards its grand goal – full membership in the European family of peoples.

Vojislav Kostunica

Kostunica said that Serbia has been waiting for this day since October 2000, when it started the great job of including the country into European integration processes.

“We have always belonged in Europe and we see the European Union as our common house. I said this at the Biarritz meeting of the EU’s heads of state and prime ministers in October 2000. Since then, we have had to do much to get the Feasibility Study and to step onto the European path,” said Kostunica.

According to him, we all know very well that the situation in Serbia used to be more complicated and more difficult, when compared with most countries with the similar European orientation. Because, aside from the problems in transforming the economic system into a market economy, changes towards pluralistic democracy, the creation of a climate of the rule of law, Serbia has also faced specific problems relating to international sanctions, isolation and post-war conditions.

“Also, we all know the difficulties we have had in finding a framework for the co-existence of Serbia and Montenegro, the efforts to preserve Kosovo-Metohija within the country’s borders, to find an adequate way of fulfilling the obligations towards the Hague tribunal, and to tackle everyday problems in combating organised crime and widespread corruption”, said Kostunica and stressed that all this had hindered internal changes and the fulfilling of European criteria for association.

He said that EU representatives had closely watched and measured everything that Serbia and Montenegro was doing to meet the criteria for the stabilisation and association process. “There are clear and inflexible criteria that the EU defined as early as 1993. And all the countries that linked their development and future to the EU had been through the same mill of preparations”, according to Kostunica.

According to him, the Serbian government exerted considerable efforts in order to fulfil the necessary conditions for receiving the study in the past year. “I would like to use this opportunity to commend all members of the government on a job well done. Today’s success does not belong just to the government, rather the entire country and society”, Kostunica said.

“Now that we have received the study, I can openly say that we are on the European path which will lead us to the EU. Many difficult steps still lay ahead of us but we can overcome them with more hope and far more realistic expectations”, stated the Serbian Prime Minister.

Kostunica underlined that the Serbian government is prepared to continue working persistently and diligently in this direction and expressed his belief that this readiness pervades among other state, political and public factors in the country.

“Finally, I am more than convinced that our people are firmly oriented towards a European Serbia and a European State Union of Serbia-Montenegro. I believe that today’s event is of great significance which will positively influence a renewal of optimism among our citizens, and strengthen integrative trends in our society. I am also convinced that as a country we have enough strength and maturity to show that we can work together on preserving Kosovo-Metohija, strengthening the state union, speedier EU membership, continuing all encompassing reforms of the economic and political system for the wellbeing of our country and citizens.

“The positive assessment of the feasibility study largely contributes to the most important goal of the Serbian government – a stable country and better living conditions for us all”, stated Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.