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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Clear European road ahead for Serbia

Belgrade, 2 May 2005

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica told Tanjug today that after approving a positive feasibility study, the European Union will display greater interest in speeding up preparations for talks on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia-Montenegro.

Author: Tanjug

Kostunica said that the more concrete steps the country takes towards the Agreement, the greater the EU’s interest for the preservation of the state union will be.

Kostunica said that with the feasibility study, Serbia-Montenegro has stepped into Europe and he expressed conviction that the road to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement is not so long.

Kostunica stressed that the European integration sentiment has definitely prevailed in Serbia and he added that it would be unnatural for Serbia-Montenegro to disintegrate at the time when all of Europe is integrating. That is simply contrary to common sense and the spirit of the EU, which Serbia and Montenegro aspire to join, Kostunica said and expressed conviction that Belgrade and Brussels understand each other on this matter very well.

He said that Serbia today knows its objectives and that its journey to Europe will be fast if all the processes develop in the agreed way. The Prime Minister pointed out that the country is entering a stage when the harmonisation of domestic regulations with those of the EU is of crucial importance.

Recalling that on March 31 the government adopted the Action Plan for the harmonisation of laws with the EU regulations, Kostunica said that the parliament will play a very important role in the harmonisation process and he stressed the responsibility of every caucus and every MP.

Speaking about a possible referendum in Montenegro, Kostunica said that his only request is to follow European standards when establishing the rules for holding a referendum, or more importantly, to fully cooperate with the EU in this process, which is also required by the Agreement on the change of the Constitutional Charter.

Kostunica pointed out that it does make a difference whether there will be one or two countries, and he explained that for that reason, the EU must be consulted when determining rules. He added that this is the key provision in the recently signed agreement.

Kostunica also said that the positive feasibility study is proof that Serbia has made progress in the field of economy, achieving a higher degree of security and creating a more favourable business climate.

He explained that the feasibility study refers to the overall state of the nation, including institutions, regulations, and economy and he added that the situation still has to be improved and that there are many problems resulting from inherited conditions.

The Prime Minister recalled that aside from recorded economic growth, Serbia has seen increasing foreign direct investment and that it has passed a large number of important laws over the past year. Also, he said that citizens now have greater access to credit, the inherited external debt is being settled, and the state is repaying its liabilities to citizens.

He said that problems are being resolved but he added that new laws cannot yield results immediately and that other complex measures are ahead, such as the restructuring of large public-sector enterprises.

Kostunica reiterated that Serbia has opted for European integration and he pointed out that a failure to join the EU would make the country a completely isolated island. He added that EU accession has its price but that positive results will come over time.

He also explained that integration into the European system involves the creation of conditions for a competitive economy and he called for social dialogue between the government, trade unions, and employers.

Asked whether the confidence motion means that the government enjoys greater confidence in Brussels than in Belgrade, Kostunica said that political parties are in dispute and that opposition has the right to initiate a confidence vote in the parliament.

However, when the country is involved in the resolution of critical national issues, all political parties are expected to work on those basic issues, although they may disagree on some of them, said Kostunica.

The feasibility study is not only a gain for the government but also for the entire society, said Kostunica and added that it is very important for the government to be backed by both the parliamentary majority and the European institutions for the sake of joining the EU.

The Prime Minister said that the feasibility study will facilitate the work on Serbia’s new constitution because it points to the need of harmonising the constitution with Serbia-Montenegro’s Constitutional Charter.

This must be set in motion because we must not let regulations remain in disagreement with the outdated 1990 constitution, said Kostunica and added that a great deal has been done in changing the constitution.

According to him, certain ambiguities came about when the president’s expert team introduced its own proposal when the work on the government’s proposal was well under way.

Kostunica expressed the hope that the work on the constitution, given that it represents a crucial national and state interest, will be backed by all the parties in the parliament and that it will be finished with a consensus of all parliamentary parties.