Q:
A:
West Balkan countries need vision of European future
Belgrade/Brussels,
10 November 2009
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister for EU integration Bozidar Djelic said today in Brussels that the West Balkan countries should have before them a very real European future that is not too far away and that this is also important for the EU.
After participating in the “Are the EU and the Western Balkans Going Separate Ways?" conference, organised by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Djelic said that all West Balkan countries’ representatives present agree with the Greek initiative to include the entire West Balkans in the EU by 2014.
He said that there has been no unified stance on this issue among the EU countries up until now, which was also confirmed by Director for Western Balkans in the European Commission's Enlargement Directorate General Pierre Mirel at the conference.
For now there is no consensus in the EU regarding this issue and technically speaking this is a tough question, but we are seeing that, as opposed to the same period last year when the EU was uncertain about its institutional organisation, this year the situation is much better, said Djelic.
He said that it is important that EU member countries reach consensus as soon as possible about the implementation of the interim trade agreement with Serbia because at this moment Serbia definitely possesses the capability to acquire candidate status within a period of six months to one year.
Djelic said that there are many in Europe who think that the region has still not managed to deal with the problem of organised crime and corruption, adding that it is up to the countries in the region to show that this is not true, as Serbia has done successfully in the recent period.
He said that this is a good time for making these efforts, considering the fact that recently a very positive European Commission report came out about reforms in the region.
He said that on the other hand there is the fact of certain blockades; regarding Serbia it is clear that the issue of cooperation with the Hague tribunal is still a problem, while other countries have various problems as well.
He said that probably Albania’s application for candidate status will be considered next week, adding that this will be good for Albania and the entire West Balkans.
He said that this should serve as an encouragement for Serbia to seriously consider applying for candidate status very soon.
In this context there is good reason to act. On the other hand because of the economic crisis we are still in a transitional condition because new EU institutions have still not been fully established, said Djelic.
He said that there has been no unified stance on this issue among the EU countries up until now, which was also confirmed by Director for Western Balkans in the European Commission's Enlargement Directorate General Pierre Mirel at the conference.
For now there is no consensus in the EU regarding this issue and technically speaking this is a tough question, but we are seeing that, as opposed to the same period last year when the EU was uncertain about its institutional organisation, this year the situation is much better, said Djelic.
He said that it is important that EU member countries reach consensus as soon as possible about the implementation of the interim trade agreement with Serbia because at this moment Serbia definitely possesses the capability to acquire candidate status within a period of six months to one year.
Djelic said that there are many in Europe who think that the region has still not managed to deal with the problem of organised crime and corruption, adding that it is up to the countries in the region to show that this is not true, as Serbia has done successfully in the recent period.
He said that this is a good time for making these efforts, considering the fact that recently a very positive European Commission report came out about reforms in the region.
He said that on the other hand there is the fact of certain blockades; regarding Serbia it is clear that the issue of cooperation with the Hague tribunal is still a problem, while other countries have various problems as well.
He said that probably Albania’s application for candidate status will be considered next week, adding that this will be good for Albania and the entire West Balkans.
He said that this should serve as an encouragement for Serbia to seriously consider applying for candidate status very soon.
In this context there is good reason to act. On the other hand because of the economic crisis we are still in a transitional condition because new EU institutions have still not been fully established, said Djelic.
-
Belgrade, 24 July 2026Serbia, Hungary partners in addressing regional security challenges
-
Belgrade, 24 July 2026Dačić congratulates UK Home Secretary on reappointment
-
Belgrade, 22 July 2026Serbia follows modern technological achievements, attracts investments
-
Belgrade, 22 July 2026Continued cooperation with Russia in field of security, emergency situations
-
Belgrade, 22 July 2026New opportunities for expanding economic cooperation between Serbia, China
-
Belgrade, 20 July 2026Cooperation in field of interior affairs important segment of relations with Germany
-
Belgrade, 16 July 2026Expo 2027 opportunity to further strengthen international partnerships
-
Belgrade/Bratislava, 16 July 2026Serbia, Slovakia continue to strengthen political, economic cooperation
-
Belgrade, 14 July 2026Serbia bilaterally resolves problems arising from EES implementation
-
Gradina/Kalotina, 9 July 2026Improving border cooperation between Serbia, Bulgaria