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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

SAA to be signed by January 2008 at latest

Belgrade, 10 November 2007

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said today in a discussion with Serbian citizens that Serbia will prove that it is cooperating fully with the Hague Tribunal, and the country will sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU by January 2008 at the latest.

Bozidar Djelic, center, talks with citizens in Knez Mihailova Street in Belgrade

Author: Tanjug

Following the discussion on the subject, “Serbia Still on the Right Track to the EU” in which Djelic took part with other ministers in the Serbian government and members of the state negotiating team, he told the press that cooperation with the Hague Tribunal is not a major obstacle, but is a condition which must be fulfilled before the SAA can be signed with the EU.

We wish to have certain privileges as a future EU member state. At the same time we also have certain obligations. Serbia has undertaken obligations according to Serbian legislation and international agreements. The Hague Tribunal was set up when the Dayton Agreement was signed, and full cooperation with the tribunal is based on the agreement, said Djelic.

He said that during the upcoming year the European budget for Serbia will stand at €191 million and will be spent on projects for raising living standards.

According to Djelic, acquisition of candidate status will significantly increase this sum to nearly an annual €888 million, which will be directed towards regional development, agriculture and people’s needs.

Djelic reminded that last week EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn confirmed for the first time that Serbia’s ambition to get candidate status by the end of 2008 is realistic, and added that this is great encouragement for us to continue working in that direction.

Regarding the visa regime, it is our aim to have visa restrictions removed for all our citizens for travel to EU countries by the end of 2008, said Djelic and pointed to the fact that a major step was made with the ratification of the agreements on visa relaxations and readmission in Serbian parliament.

He said that salaries and pensions will be increased in the future, but he warned that next year salaries and pensions must be established on a realistic basis, due to which in general there will be not much scope for increasing them.

Djelic said that salaries in the state sector rose by 28%, while in the private sector the increase was significantly smaller.

Members of the Serbian government talked today in Knez Mihailova Street in Belgrade with citizens about the initialling of the SAA with the EU and the importance of the EU accession process for the state and the people.