Q:
A:
Serbia must sign SAA as soon as possible
Belgrade,
24 January 2008
Director of the EU Integration Office Tanja Miscevic stressed today the importance of signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) as soon as possible because Serbia is already behind in its relations with the EU.
Ksenija Milivojevic, Miroslav Luci and Tanja Miscevic
Author:
Tanjug
At a roundtable discussion on EU institutional reforms, held at the Serbian Government Palace, Miscevic stressed that Serbia entered the stabilisation and association process several years ago and added that it has the potential to be much closer to EU membership than it currently is.
On December 6 the Serbian government approved the signing of the SAA and authorised Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic to sign the document, recalled Miscevic and voiced belief that the agreement will be signed, preferably within the shortest timeframe possible, as that would be very beneficial for Serbia.
She also emphasised that the only condition for signing the SAA is full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal and added that the condition has remained the same since the European Commission was given the mandate to begin talks with Belgrade.
According to Miscevic, the significance of the SAA for Serbia are the guarantees it offers, seeing as Serbia is not a member of the World Trade Organisation, and on account of their role in attracting foreign direct investment.
By signing the SAA, funds from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance will be available to Serbia, as well as many other benefits, explained Miscevic and specified that of key importance is that the conditions for EU membership have remained the same and that there is still room for enlargement of the Union.
She said it is often forgotten that it is not just the economic, political and legal criteria set by Copenhagen that are important, but also the capability of the EU itself to accept the challenges posed by enlargement. She added that the Lisbon Treaty should be the answer to these very challenges.
The Lisbon Treaty replaces the abandoned EU constitution which was rejected in 2005 at referendums in the Netherlands and France, recalled Miscevic and explained that this agreement allows new members to join the EU and enables institutional reform in the EU.
Advisor to the Serbian Prime Minister for European Integration Ksenija Milivojevic voiced pleasure that the EU signed the Lisbon Treaty last year and said she hopes that EU member states will soon ratify the treaty so that it can come into effect in 2009.
Milivojevic said that she expects that together with other countries of the West Balkans, Serbia will get membership during the next round of EU enlargement, in which the Lisbon Treaty will be directly implemented.
Slovenian Ambassador to Serbia Miroslav Luci stressed that his country supports the signing of the SAA between Serbia and the EU as soon as possible.
Luci said that Serbia has good administrative and other capacities and once it signs the SAA, it could progress faster than other countries in the upcoming process.
The roundtable discussion was organised by the Serbian government’s EU Integration Office and the Institute of European Studies.
On December 6 the Serbian government approved the signing of the SAA and authorised Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic to sign the document, recalled Miscevic and voiced belief that the agreement will be signed, preferably within the shortest timeframe possible, as that would be very beneficial for Serbia.
She also emphasised that the only condition for signing the SAA is full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal and added that the condition has remained the same since the European Commission was given the mandate to begin talks with Belgrade.
According to Miscevic, the significance of the SAA for Serbia are the guarantees it offers, seeing as Serbia is not a member of the World Trade Organisation, and on account of their role in attracting foreign direct investment.
By signing the SAA, funds from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance will be available to Serbia, as well as many other benefits, explained Miscevic and specified that of key importance is that the conditions for EU membership have remained the same and that there is still room for enlargement of the Union.
She said it is often forgotten that it is not just the economic, political and legal criteria set by Copenhagen that are important, but also the capability of the EU itself to accept the challenges posed by enlargement. She added that the Lisbon Treaty should be the answer to these very challenges.
The Lisbon Treaty replaces the abandoned EU constitution which was rejected in 2005 at referendums in the Netherlands and France, recalled Miscevic and explained that this agreement allows new members to join the EU and enables institutional reform in the EU.
Advisor to the Serbian Prime Minister for European Integration Ksenija Milivojevic voiced pleasure that the EU signed the Lisbon Treaty last year and said she hopes that EU member states will soon ratify the treaty so that it can come into effect in 2009.
Milivojevic said that she expects that together with other countries of the West Balkans, Serbia will get membership during the next round of EU enlargement, in which the Lisbon Treaty will be directly implemented.
Slovenian Ambassador to Serbia Miroslav Luci stressed that his country supports the signing of the SAA between Serbia and the EU as soon as possible.
Luci said that Serbia has good administrative and other capacities and once it signs the SAA, it could progress faster than other countries in the upcoming process.
The roundtable discussion was organised by the Serbian government’s EU Integration Office and the Institute of European Studies.
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