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Serbia’s application for EU candidacy must be agreed upon with the EU

Belgrade, 18 September 2009

Deputy Prime Minister for EU integration Bozidar Djelic today stated that Serbia’s application for EU candidacy must be agreed upon with the EU because otherwise it would be a political act without concrete effects.

Author: blic.rs

In an interview for today’s edition of the Blic daily Djelic noted that applying for candidacy is not an issue and Serbia could do that tomorrow, but that would make no sense without agreement with its European partners.

The candidacy application must be previously agreed upon with the EU, whose goal is to grant candidate status and begin accession talks, Djelic stressed, recalling that implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) is a prerequisite for being granted candidate status.

He said the timetable for candidates will not be altered for Serbia’s sake, which is why its efforts must now focus on the implementation of the Transitional Trade Agreement because Serbia needs to provide fundamental and sustainable progress.

When asked whether the EU is now closer to unfreezing the Transitional Trade Agreement and the SAA, Djelic recalled the words by Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Spindelegger who said that Austria will campaign for the implementation of the agreements at the EU summit in October.

However, if that is not possible, we will wait for Serge Brammertz’s new report in December. In the meantime, Serbia will keep working to achieve its goal, the Deputy Prime Minister said, adding that the final decision on visa abolishment for Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia is expected in late November and will be implemented from 2010.

Djelic recalled that the EU’s report on Serbia’s EU integration progress, to be made public on October 14, will be the most favourable report so far.

He noted that the report speaks favourably of Serbian Parliament’s considerable activity, adding that along with the usual suggestions the report will also show that Serbia already has the administrative capacity for candidacy and accession talks.

Speaking about the agreement signed yesterday in Brussels with EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn about the EU’s budget support to Serbia of €100 million, Djelic stressed that this shows Brussels’ trust in the reforms being implemented in Serbia.

The agreement will bring us €100 million to support the budget and we will use these funds for pensions, housing loan subsidies, infrastructure investments and other necessary purposes. The EU therefore obviously acknowledges our reforms because it granted such funds only in Serbia’s case, he concluded.