Q:
A:
SAA may be signed by end-2007
Belgrade,
5 June 2007
Director of the Serbian government’s EU Integration Office Tanja Miscevic stated today that Serbia has completed 80% of the text on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU, adding that the remaining portion will be completed presently.
Tanja Miscevic
Author:
Tanjug
In an interview for today’s edition of the Blic daily, Miscevic said that the remaining portion includes two chapters, which refer to the judiciary and interior affairs, and institutional and final provisions.
There remains for us to fully define annexes on product lists and the dynamics of the liberalisation of tariff rates, as well as the period when the rates will be completely abandoned, explained Miscevic and pointed out that the Serbian authorities must clearly state when the appropriate laws will be adopted in certain sectors.
According to Miscevic, following the signing of the SAA, which may take place before the end of the year, Serbia will apply for EU candidate status, and in doing so it may look up to Slovenia which applied for EU membership the moment it signed the SAA.
Application for EU candidate status is a decision that will be made by the government and it might come in any moment following the signing, said Miscevic and explained that after this takes place, the European Commission will send Serbia a Questionnaire which does not refer to the economy alone, but also to all other sectors.
She recalled that it took approximately six months for countries in this region to fill in the Questionnaire and added her belief that Serbia could do it more rapidly since it has already sent all reports to the European Commission in the form of a questionnaire and thus gained the necessary experience.
The European Commission will then assess the Questionnaire and, though it might have some additional questions, make a positive assessment and forward it to the EU Council of Ministers where a unanimous decision on the status and the date for the commencement of talks on EU membership will be made, concluded Miscevic.
There remains for us to fully define annexes on product lists and the dynamics of the liberalisation of tariff rates, as well as the period when the rates will be completely abandoned, explained Miscevic and pointed out that the Serbian authorities must clearly state when the appropriate laws will be adopted in certain sectors.
According to Miscevic, following the signing of the SAA, which may take place before the end of the year, Serbia will apply for EU candidate status, and in doing so it may look up to Slovenia which applied for EU membership the moment it signed the SAA.
Application for EU candidate status is a decision that will be made by the government and it might come in any moment following the signing, said Miscevic and explained that after this takes place, the European Commission will send Serbia a Questionnaire which does not refer to the economy alone, but also to all other sectors.
She recalled that it took approximately six months for countries in this region to fill in the Questionnaire and added her belief that Serbia could do it more rapidly since it has already sent all reports to the European Commission in the form of a questionnaire and thus gained the necessary experience.
The European Commission will then assess the Questionnaire and, though it might have some additional questions, make a positive assessment and forward it to the EU Council of Ministers where a unanimous decision on the status and the date for the commencement of talks on EU membership will be made, concluded Miscevic.
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