Q:
A:
Serbia can be ready for EU membership by 2012
Belgrade/Brussels,
16 June 2008
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said that he expects that Serbia will acquire candidate status by the end of the year, and can be ready for full membership by 2012.
Author:
www.neurope.eu
In an interview given to the European weekly “New Europe” on his recent visit to Brussels, Djelic said that this might seem to be too ambitious, but Serbia will do everything in its power to acquire candidate status this year.
I do not intend to pressurise the European Commission, or any EU member state on this. We are aware of the fact that we must strengthen cooperation with the Hague tribunal in order to acquire candidate status. Keeping that in mind, I think that our national programme and efforts in cooperation will objectively qualify us for acquiring candidate status by the end of the year, said the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister.
He said that Serbia will do everything in its power to conclude cooperation with the Hague tribunal and added that when it is concluded, Serbia will have to deal with the issue of long term reconciliation in the Balkans, since not enough has been done on the basic level.
The elite are cooperating, but we must establish far more contacts on a personal level, said Djelic and added that in some case there are too many stereotypes on both sides, and the EU could help in resolving this problem.
At the same time, he reiterated that Serbia will never accept independence of Kosovo-Metohija, but added that it will cooperate with the EU and its member states which, unfortunately, recognised the illegal independence of Kosovo-Metohija. There can be no sustainable solution for Kosovo without Serbia’s participation and acceptance. A historical compromise is necessary. The Pandora’s Box should be closed, and precedents should not be set, the deputy prime minister said. Speaking about EU enlargement, Djelic said that a country must help itself if it wants to be helped by the EU.
He underlined that the process of European integration is not just a great project, unique in the history of the world, providing peace and prosperity, but that it is also a means for self-improvement that will enable Serbia to become more attractive and competitive.
I do not intend to pressurise the European Commission, or any EU member state on this. We are aware of the fact that we must strengthen cooperation with the Hague tribunal in order to acquire candidate status. Keeping that in mind, I think that our national programme and efforts in cooperation will objectively qualify us for acquiring candidate status by the end of the year, said the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister.
He said that Serbia will do everything in its power to conclude cooperation with the Hague tribunal and added that when it is concluded, Serbia will have to deal with the issue of long term reconciliation in the Balkans, since not enough has been done on the basic level.
The elite are cooperating, but we must establish far more contacts on a personal level, said Djelic and added that in some case there are too many stereotypes on both sides, and the EU could help in resolving this problem.
At the same time, he reiterated that Serbia will never accept independence of Kosovo-Metohija, but added that it will cooperate with the EU and its member states which, unfortunately, recognised the illegal independence of Kosovo-Metohija. There can be no sustainable solution for Kosovo without Serbia’s participation and acceptance. A historical compromise is necessary. The Pandora’s Box should be closed, and precedents should not be set, the deputy prime minister said. Speaking about EU enlargement, Djelic said that a country must help itself if it wants to be helped by the EU.
He underlined that the process of European integration is not just a great project, unique in the history of the world, providing peace and prosperity, but that it is also a means for self-improvement that will enable Serbia to become more attractive and competitive.
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