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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Application of visa relaxed regime agreement as of mid-2007

Belgrade, 30 November 2006

Director of the Serbian government’s EU Integration Office Tanja Miscevic said today that the agreement on visa relaxations could be initialed by spring next year, whereas its application could start in the second half of 2007.

Author: Fonet

Miscevic said that the agreement needs to be adopted by the EU Council of Ministers, after which it should be approved by the European parliament, noting that Serbia has political support in the European parliament at the moment.

She added that negotiations should not be long as starting positions of both Serbia and the European Commission are known.

Miscevic announced that the Serbian negotiating team will try tomorrow in Brussels to obtain visa relaxations for journalists, NGO sector, families of legally employed workers in the EU, sports and cultural workers who need to be treated in EU countries, she said.

According to Miscevic, for the time being it is uncertain whether students, experts, civil servants and businesspeople will also get relaxed conditions.

Miscevic announced that the Serbian government negotiating team is being led by Serbian Minister of Interior Dragan Jocic and that the European Commission will present its platform for negotiations on readmission agreement with the EU.

Negotiations on concluding the single agreement on readmission with the EU need to take place at the same time with negotiations on relaxed visa regime as readmission agreement is precondition for relaxed visa regime, she explained.

The agreement on readmission will not specify the number of asylum seekers and illegal emigrants who will have to get back to Serbia, Miscevic said and added that the agreement will only define who the Serbian citizens without papers living in EU countries are.

She also pointed out that the first round of talks will focus on exchange of opinions and views on these issues whereas real negotiations could take place during the second round, in a month or a month and a half.