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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia has full capacity for beginning of accession negotiations

Belgrade, 9 September 2011

Serbian President Boris Tadic said today that on its path towards the EU, Serbia has done everything so that accession negotiations could start and that it does not expect privileges or exemptions, but to be treated like all other countries aspiring to EU membership.

Opening the first Serbia-EU Forum "Overcoming the crisis, moving towards the EU”, Tadic said that Serbia expects to be given candidate status soon and the date of start of the accession negotiations, although it is aware that a different outcome is possible.

In the process of EU integration Serbia must not be faced with special conditions, the Serbian President said and added that our country has full capacity for the beginning of negotiations on EU membership.

Tadic expressed hope that the EU will recognise the efforts Serbia is making in the reform process and its role as guarantor of stability and cooperation in southeastern Europe.

Stopping or slowing down EU enlargement would affect citizens of Serbia, but also the interests of the EU, since the political and economic stability in the Western Balkans is in the interest of whole Europe, he said.

Tadic pointed out that Serbia has the political will and administrative capacity to fulfil all the Copenhagen criteria and enter the EU very soon, but that it will not give up seeking a just solution for Kosovo-Metohija for the sake of getting the candidate status.

Nobody need convince Serbia that the Kosovo problem should be resolved before its EU accession. We want to solve it because it burdens the lives of our people and the functioning of our state and we do it in a way that befits a democratic country, the President of Serbia explained.

The problem of Kosovo must be solved through compromise, and not by one side getting everything, and the other losing everything, and there can be no solution if unilateralism and the force of one side are stimulated and rewarded.

He explained that a compromise solution for Kosovo must have four elements - search for the optimal option for northern Kosovo, a guarantee of security for Serbs in the enclaves, regulation of the status of the most important monuments of Serbian culture and of the status of property of Serbs and the Serbian state in Kosovo.

If there is a new attempt to forcibly change the situation on the ground, the consequences can be very difficult and in that sense I cannot exclude the possibility that they trigger a new migration and exodus of the population, Tadic warned.

He recalled that after the democratic changes on 5 October 2000, Serbia has tried to develop the best possible relations with the EU and the countries of the region and to strengthen peace and stability in the region.

Tadic said that with the purpose of regional reconciliation, he had visited graves of people of all nationalities that died in the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and added that with the same goal, Serbia successfully completed the cooperation with the Hague tribunal.

Resolving the issue of the missing people and the return of the displaced would be another crucial step towards reconciliation in the region, he said and underlined that he expects the same approach from other countries of the region too, as well as support from the international community.

He called once more for starting an independent investigation under the UN auspices regarding the report of Council of Europe Rapporteur Dick Marty on human organ trafficking in Kosovo-Metohija.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said in his address to the forum that Serbia's future is in the EU and underlined that Serbia has achieved remarkable progress in the process of European integration in the last three years and that it is important that it remains committed to European objectives.

EU enlargement will be based on the success of candidates and there will be no shortcuts regarding the Copenhagen criteria, he said, adding that the decision on candidacy requires a consensus of 27 governments, parliaments and of the public opinion of these countries.

The President of the European Council said that the state of relations between Belgrade and Pristina will be one of the key factors upon deciding on Serbia's EU candidacy.

He stressed that unilateral moves are dangerous and that they can be prevented through dialogue and negotiations, as well as through creative diplomacy which requires compromise of both sides.

The Serbia-EU Forum is being organised by the Cabinet of Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Bozidar Djelic and is held under the auspices of President Boris Tadic.

The event has gathered over 400 ministers, intellectuals, representatives of NGO sector and reporters from several countries of the EU and the region.