Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia’s goal to become EU candidate by end of 2008

Belgrade, 25 July 2008

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Technological Development Bozidar Djelic said in an interview to today’s edition of daily Glas Javnosti that he hopes that EU foreign ministers will unblock the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement at their September 15 meeting.

The Serbian government’s official website brings parts of this interview:

On the European integration process:

- It is important that implementation of the Transitional agreement begins so that we can prepare for the next step, which is acquiring candidacy. By the way, unrelated topics shouldn’t be brought into connection. Serbia’s European integration and resolution of the Kosovo issue are two separate processes.

On acquiring EU candidate status:

- Serbia has a clear goal: acquiring EU candidate status by the end of the year. Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic mentioned that date and said that if it is extended, that will be only be for a short period of time. The European Commission and the member states are, naturally, cautious on that matter. Our goal is very ambitious, but feasible.

On Resolution proposal on continuity of state policy on Kosovo-Metohija:

- Serbia’s positions are well known. We will never recognise Kosovo. We will never accept to be blackmailed with Kosovo for the sake of joining the EU. That policy is clearly confirmed by the sixth paragraph of the Resolution proposal on continuity of the state policy on Kosovo-Metohija. That is not a message to Brussels since the EU does not have jurisdiction to recognise states, but to the countries, which unfortunately recognised the so-called independent Kosovo.

On statements by some EU states that Serbia must establish good neighbourly relations with Kosovo:

- Serbia will be a source of stability in the Balkans and will develop very friendly relations with its neighbours. But we will never establish relations with our own country. Our European partners know that very well. Since they want Serbia to enter the EU, they will not ask us to do something which is unacceptable for us. That is not an issue of sympathy, but of well understood mutual interests.

On Kosovo’s membership of the IMF and the World Bank:

- Serbia has succeeded in have a large number of countries speak out against the beginning of the process of candidacy of the so-called Kosovo in these institutions. Our opposition will be louder and more efficient if we remain in these institutions. We must continue to strengthen Serbia and its diplomatic capacity.

Is it possible to achieve the inflow of foreign investment worth between €3 billion and €5 billion in the next few years?

- If we acquire EU candidacy soon and the economic situation in the West does not get much worse, these figures are completely possible for Serbia. Serbia’s period of greatest development in its entire history is ahead of us. I know that many citizens will think that that is too optimistic, but we will see each other at the end of this government’s mandate and in ten years’ time to confirm that.