Stefan Fule, left, and Ivica Dacic
Dacic underlined at a press conference held after the meeting with European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule that dialogue, if Serbia participated in it, would be status neutral.
The Prime Minister stated that Belgrade is ready for political and technical dialogue with interim institutions of authority in Pristina and added that Serbia cannot accept conditions that would mean recognition of the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo.
He said that he expects a constructive approach from the EU and enough understanding for specific problems Serbia is facing, such as the issue of Kosovo-Metohija, and underlined that in the talks with Fule the positions have been clarified in order to avoid different interpretations of the European Commission’s Report on Serbia’s progress towards the EU.
Dacic reiterated that Serbia is committed to a peaceful resolution of all disputed issues and the continuation of technical dialogue and application of agreements, but it also wants political dialogue to be raised to the highest level.
The Prime Minister explained that for Serbia it was an important question whether there are new conditions in the process of European integration and whether it is required to recognise the independence of Kosovo in some way if it wants to get the date for the beginning of negotiations on EU accession or the membership itself.
The response is that there are no new conditions, that these are the conditions of the European Council which clearly state that a visible and sustainable improvement of relations between Belgrade and Pristina is necessary, which for us is not an issue. For us the sentence on "territorial integrity of Kosovo" was contentious since that can imply that there may be new conditions. And for us that is unacceptable, the Prime Minister explained.
Dacic reiterated that Serbia will not accept new conditions apart from the criteria already set and announced that the formulation of a unified state policy on Kosovo will be continued in the near future, in which the president, government and the parliament will participate.
Our goal is to obtain the date for negotiations as soon as possible and we are aware that that will not happen in December, he underlined and added that the government’s goal is to obtain the date in the course of next year.
Dacic said that when it comes to meeting the criteria of the EU, the Serbian government has made some important steps in less than three months, which confirms its clear commitment to the continuation of European integration.
Our priority will be the continuation of internal reforms, among others reform of the judiciary, as well as the continuation of the fight against organised crime and corruption, the Prime Minister stated.
He expressed hope that the report which the European Commissioner for Enlargement is preparing for the next autumn will contain the date for the start of negotiations.
Fule said that in his talks with Dacic he underlined that Serbia will not be given new conditions apart from the ones set in December last year and that the European Commission will remain to be status neutral when it comes to solving Kosovo issue.
He said that Serbia will be given the date for the start of accession negotiations as soon as progress is made in crucial issues and a visible and lasting progress in relations with Kosovo.
Fule expressed hope that Serbia will fulfil agreements reached in dialogue with Pristina and that it will work on solving the remaining problems, with the help of the EU.
The EU also expects Serbia to continue with reforms in the field of the judiciary, the fight against corruption and crime and to pay special attention to vulnerable groups, such as Roma and LGBT population.
Fule underlined that the most important message he conveyed today is that there is a possibility to speed up the process of giving the date for the start of accession negotiations to Serbia and added that he is sure that Serbia is ready to accelerate processes leading to that.