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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Political agreement with Serbia – offer of EU membership

Belgrade, 31 January 2008

Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic stated today that the political agreement with Serbia is in fact an offer of EU membership, which cannot be accepted if it is not the will of Serbian citizens.

File photo of Vuk Jeremic

Author: www.danas.co.yu

In an interview for today’s edition of the Danas daily, Jeremic explained that the EU is an institution in which peoples and countries join only if they choose to do so democratically and of their own free will.

On February 3 we will have a referendum on Serbia’s future in the EU, that is, a referendum on EU membership. The political agreement bears the signatures of 27 EU member countries and only one other signature is needed – Serbia’s. This is what Serbian citizens will be deciding on February 3, stressed Jeremic.

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

Explain the political agreement which the EU offered Serbia to sign on February 7:

This is primarily an offer to sign a political agreement on cooperation between Serbia and the EU. The most important thing about it is that Europe wants Serbia to become a full EU member. This is the first time this has been stated in such an explicit way and also the first time that all 27 EU countries have supported this stance. For me the most important point in the political agreement is the offer of EU membership which besides the aforementioned also implies full liberalisation of the visa regime with the EU, that is the abolishment of visas, the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) as the most important mechanism for institutionalisation of steps towards full EU membership, as well as cooperation in education and economy. Serbia has the opportunity to accept or reject this offer of EU membership and it will be a legitimate decision of Serbian citizens.

Is this agreement more important than the SAA?

I think it does have greater political significance. Naturally, the SAA is an important institutional step which will bring us closer to EU membership, but the political agreement we have been offered goes a step further in the political sense. It means that the EU is under obligation to offer full EU membership to Serbia.

What is your view of Russia’s position at the moment?

When it comes to the future status of Kosovo-Metohija, Russia has always advocated an exceptionally principled stance based on international law, which we truly appreciate. The positions of Moscow and Belgrade on this issue are very close, if not identical. On the other hand, regardless of Kosovo-Metohija, Russia is our historical, traditional partner, friend and ally, one of our most important economic partners and in any case someone we cooperate with very closely concerning all inter-state issues. Russia also firmly supports Serbia’s EU integration, just as it endorses the integration of the entire Western Balkans, which was explicitly stated during my meeting in Moscow with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, as well as during the course of the meeting of Serbian top state officials with President Vladimir Putin.

Is the dilemma of Kosovo-Metohija or the EU imposed?

The policy of our country’s government has several priorities and the two most important ones are the preservation of territorial integrity and sovereignty, and the acceleration of Serbia’s EU integration process. The Serbian government and the President will never give up on these priorities. When it comes to the preservation of our territorial integrity, temptations are indeed immense. We have been leading a principled policy which we will not abandon and which implies the use of all legal, political and diplomatic means to fight for our position and stances which we believe are in line with the Constitution and international law. In pursuing this policy we have been trying to find as many allies in the international community as possible. As for Serbia’s EU integration, which in our opinion is equally important for the country, we will continue with that as well. We will persistently defend our interests on both tracks.

Energy agreement with Russia:

Russia’s political support for our stance on Kosovo-Metohija is in no way related to this energy agreement. The Serbian government decided in favour of this energy agreement because it truly believes it to be in Serbia’s best economic and geo-strategic interest, since it guarantees energy supplies in the coming decades. It is beneficial because it also makes investments in Serbia more attractive. Energy supply is one of the parameters signalling that since Serbia has long-term energy supplies, it is a very tempting investment target. The gas pipeline will enter Serbia through Bulgaria, which is already an EU member. A number of details are yet to be negotiated regarding final destinations of the pipeline. It will most certainly cover Serbia and the region, and will probably continue towards Austria and Hungary via Croatia. The pipeline will make Serbia one of the most important links in the European energy supply chain. Serbia will not only be stable in the energy, economic and political sense, but will also become physically connected with the EU. This will be another bridge we will build towards Europe and we have Russia’s full support for that.