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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia to get EU candidate status by end 2008

Belgrade, 31 January 2008

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said in an interview for today’s edition of the Blic daily that all 27 EU members voted for Serbia’s entry into the European family, adding that it is up to Serbian citizens to confirm this on February 3.

The Serbian government’s official web site gives excerpts from the interview.

Some say that Brussels’ support could have been clearer:

The political agreement, whose signing will be made possible by Serbian citizens’ votes on February 3, and which will be signed on February 7, cannot be any clearer. For the first time all EU members stated in writing that Serbia will become an EU member country. They confirmed they want to abolish visas and that they will put much more resources at the disposal of young people who want to study in the EU. This means that all 27 members voted for Serbia’s inclusion into the European family. It is up to us to say on February 3 that we also want this. By choosing their president on February 3, Serbian citizens will be making a decision on whether they want to enter the EU, which I am certain they will choose.

Is it true that the government has to convene in order to authorise you to sign this agreement?

Yes. I do not expect any difficulties because with their votes on February 3, Serbian citizens will confirm this agreement which no politician can deny.

Why wasn’t the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) signed on January 28?

We said we will sign the agreement when the EU offers it to us, and that did not happen on January 28 because Holland and Belgium demanded that cooperation with the Hague Tribunal be completed. I expect that from February 3 onwards, we will move faster towards the SAA.

Is it possible that cooperation with the Hague Tribunal may also be a condition for abolishing the visa regime?

This whole theory stemmed from one sentence uttered by the Dutch foreign minister, however the Netherlands voted for the abolishment of visas on Monday. This means that The Hague and the visa issue are not related. Naturally, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t complete our cooperation with the Tribunal.

It has been announced that a decision on the status of Kosovo will be made right after elections in Serbia:

There are always speculations with dates, but our policy is clear – we will never accept the independence of Kosovo-Metohija. The only legal way to send an EU mission to the province would be through a new UN Security Council resolution.

If the status of Kosovo is decided, will the state give up on EU integration?

The government adopted an action plan which hasn’t been made public. Self-imposed isolation is not in the interest of our citizens. Only a Serbia with a strong economy, a Serbia with a presence in Brussels and able to influence the decision-makers, is the Serbia that can achieve all of its goals, including those related to Kosovo.

What are the benefits of the political agreement for Serbian citizens?

At a meeting with representatives of the European Commission, we drafted a mandate for a working group which is to implement this agreement. I expect the working group to meet on February 7 – if Brussels is ready, so are we. The working group which I will coordinate and the implementation of the agreement will enable us to acquire candidate status and have visas abolished by end-2008. The candidate status implies financial assistance for agriculture, regional development, education and science. This will strengthen our country. EU accession will help us protect our interests and Kosovo-Metohija.