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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

European integration focuses on fulfilling political standards

Belgrade, 31 May 2005

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus said today that the Serbian government will continue the process of European integration and that this process is more related to the acceptance of political and democratic European principles than to free circulation of goods.

Miroljub Labus

Speaking at a session of the Serbian parliament's Committee for European Integration where he submitted the government's second report on the progress in the process of integrations, Labus said that without continued cooperation with the Hague tribunal and a new Serbian constitution it will be difficult to conclude the stabilisation and association agreement.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that in the next period the emphasis will be placed on fulfilling political standards instead of economic ones because that would be a guarantee that the countries of the western Balkans make the decision to join the European Union.

Labus said that the fact that France refused to accept the European Constitution will not influence Serbia-Montenegro's EU accession negotiations or the conclusion of the stabilisation and association agreement.

A Serbian government delegation will travel to Brussels in late July after the sessions of the Council of Ministers and the Council of the European Union that will be held on June 16 and 17, Labus announced and said that the first official reaction to the new situation after the referendum in France will be seen then.

He recalled that the Serbian government requested the ministries to form six working groups for negotiations on the stabilisation and association agreement - for goods; agriculture; services; free flow of capital and financial cooperation; harmonisation of laws and for preamble and political cooperation.

Labus added that the Serbian government formed the main negotiating team for negotiations with the European Union, while Montenegro and the state union of Serbia-Montenegro have yet to form those teams. The negotiating teams should establish a platform for negotiations in June and July, and the working groups will propose the starting negotiating positions.