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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Consensus on negotiating positions reached

Belgrade, 30 August 2005

Secretary of the Serbian government's Office for EU Integration Tanja Miscevic said today that a political consensus on positions for the beginning of negotiations on the EU Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) has been reached and added that general positions on the beginning of negotiations will be clearer following an upcoming session of the EU Integration Office.

Speaking at a round table discussion on European integration, Miscevic said that the Serbian parliament adopted many laws important for the start of negotiations, such as those on customs and customs tariffs, by which tariff rates are levelled with the rest of Europe.

She said that it would be good, but not crucial, that if by the beginning of negotiations, scheduled for October, the parliament had adopted laws on competition, foreign trade, consumers and advertising, which are all currently on the parliament's agenda.

The main obstacle, Miscevic pointed out, is the lack of a firm definition of the negotiation’s course as a result of possible differences in the positions of the Serbian and Montenegrin sides.

Next week, representatives of all EU integration offices, specifically those of Serbia, Montenegro and that of the state union, will meet in Becici. Furthermore, there is a forthcoming session of the Council for European Integrations, at which positions for the beginning of negotiations will be adopted.

Miscevic explained that certain issues from the jurisdiction of the state union will have to be harmonised with Montenegro, and in the agreement itself, Croatia's experiences in negotiating with the EU will be used.

Miscevic said that the Serbian government first has to adopt the negotiating positions and then must harmonise them with Montenegro, at the proposal of the state union.

According to Miscevic, signals from Brussels are positive at the moment, and they announce October 5 as the beginning of the talks on the SAA. This is when the contents of the agreement will be discussed, which is the reason for a visit to the European Commission in Brussels in September, Miscevic noted.

Assistant Minister for International Economic Relations Dusko Lopandic said that there will be discussion primarily on free trade, adding that the main aim of the talks will be the forming of a free trade zone by way of a gradual elimination of customs, which will be independently defined by Serbia.

He added that in the past several months, a large number of indispensable economic laws have been adopted, especially those concerning customs.

According to him, the SAA is only one of the steps towards EU association, which is planned for the year 2012. Apart from the SAA, joining the EU raises other issues of importance, including forging European partnerships and being part of EU financial programmes.

Lopandic concluded that complications in the talks could come about because of internal forces, such as differing goals within representatives of the state union and the results of Montenegro’s referendum.