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

Decision to start SAA ratification expected in mid-June

Belgrade, 24 May 2010

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Bozidar Djelic expressed his hope today that the EU Council of Ministers will make a decision to begin the process of ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia in mid-June.

Author: Tanjug

Djelic presented a report on the implementation of the national programme of Serbia’s integration into the EU for the period January–March 2010 to the Serbian Parliament’s Committee for European Integration.

He said that Serbia’s goal is to become a candidate for EU membership by the middle of next year, and in mid-2012 to start negotiations on joining the EU.

He expressed the hope that Hague tribunal’s Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz will give a positive report on Serbia's cooperation with the tribunal.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that this would be a clear political signal that Serbia is on its European path.

The decision of the Serbian government on the unilateral implementation of the transitional trade agreement in 2008 was correct, because its successful implementation, along with the questionnaire of the European Commission, is a condition for entry into the EU.

He explained that Serbia is now working on the basis of questionnaires that were given to other countries, as we still have not received a formal questionnaire.

He added that in mid-June he will present EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule with responses to the informal questionnaire.

As for visa liberalisation, he stressed that last month the number of issued biometric passports in Serbia exceeded two million, which is an all-time record. However, there are technical limitations to this process and the Ministry of the Interior is trying to boost its capacity, he added, noting that as of autumn, citizens will be able to be issued with new passports in post offices.

Speaking about the implementation of Serbia’s National Programme of EU Integration, Djelic noted that the first quarter of 2010 was less successful than the previous one, adding that the Prime Minister has been meeting with relevant ministries on a weekly basis in an attempt to make the second quarter more successful.

He also recalled that two weeks ago, a Serbian delegation visited the German Bundestag. It was the first time that questions about which solution to the issue of Kosovo-Metohija would be acceptable to Belgrade have been heard in the Bundestag , he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that Serbia wants to re-open talks about its southern province and in this way reach a historical compromise between Belgrade and Pristina. He also noted that it is EU policy that the issues of the province’s status and Serbia’s EU integration are separate processes.

Director of the EU Integration Office Milica Delevic said that the report indicates a slow-down, but this has only encouraged the government to invest additional effort in making the following quarter more successful. She recalled that this quarter will be more demanding since 14 laws and over 60 bylaws are to be adopted.