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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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Talks on SAA to begin by October 10

Belgrade, 5 September 2005

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Serbian negotiating team with the EU Miroljub Labus said today that he expects the talks on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU (SAA) to begin by October 10.

Miroljub Labus

In an interview for the TV show Euronet, Labus said that the final version of negotiating programmes that will be offered to the European Integration Council, which meets two days from now, has been adopted and will be passed to the Serbian government for review.

Labus said that, since EU negotiations with Turkey are set to begin on October 3, it is unlikely for Serbia-Montenegro to begin talks on the SAA on October 5, though they could start the following week, he added.

Asked to comment on the fact that Serbia-Montenegro will be the first country with three negotiation teams (Serbia-Montenegrin, Serbian and Montenegrin teams), Labus said that if there is good will, this should not decelerate the talks, though it would have been better if there were only one negotiating team.

“We have experience in double-track talks, we have used it during the preparations and will use it during the talks themselves”, Labus pointed out.

According to him, Serbia-Montenegro is holding on to Agenda 2012, meaning the country will be ready to join the EU in 2012.

“Whether we will join the EU by 2012 depends on our partners, but we plan to conclude all the work by then”, Labus said and pointed out that in line with that plan, a transition period has been chosen during which liberalisation of the market for EU products will be completed.

Speaking about the possibility of Montenegro’s referendum taking place during the talks, Labus said that it is a circumstance that will influence the sequence and schedule of the negotiation process, and it must be kept in mind during the talks.

“There is no point in talking about subjects that will not be specified until after the referendum, and we will adapt to this circumstance and the reality, but our task as negotiators is to find the best solution for Serbia”, he said.

Labus said he expects the SAA to be initialled during the course of Austria’s presidency, which is to follow that of Britain.

“We may expect that in the second half of 2006 the SAA will start to apply, provided that everything goes in the best way imaginable as we see it”, he concluded.