In March next year Kosovo shall most likely get the SAA and Serbia the date for beginning of negotiations.
Blic diplomatic sources in Belgrade and Brussels say that now everything shall depend on ‘normalization of relations’.
So in March next year Serbia shall be given the date for beginning of negotiations over the EU membership only if new checkpoints at border with Kosovo work without problems, if political dialog with Pristina over the north continues successfully and if agreements are reached over telephone call number and energy community.
However, there shall always be a possibility that some new impossible conditions are set to Serbia since ‘normalization of relations’ is not a precisely defined expression and certain EU members can ‘clarify’ it from time to time with new requests, for example closing of Serbian courts in the north, financing of local autonomy from Belgrade via Pristina and similar.
"The ministers in Brussels shall decide tomorrow whether to give Serbia ‘the date about the date’.
On the table there is one and now two stipulations of opinion over Serbia. The recommendation over the date is still in brackets. We shall see what they shall decide today. Germany is not requesting new conditions for Serbia’, Blic was told yesterday by a diplomatic source.
As Tanjug Agency reported referring to a source close to chairing of the European Council (Cyprus), Germany, the Great Britain and Holland are against mentioning of the date for beginning of negotiations because sufficient progress in implementation of agreements reached by Belgrade and Pristina has not been made yet.
PM Ivica Dacic:
We are aware of obligations
Serbia Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said to expect that the proposal of conclusions by the EU foreign ministers ‘ shall include a decision that in March the ministers decide that negotiations with Serbia over the EU membership begin in June’. He added that ‘by agreement on integrated checkpoints Serbia Government has confirmed its credibility’ and that ‘it is aware of obligations it undertook’.
On the other side there are Austria, Italy and Cyprus. These countries think that Serbia deserves to be given the date because of demonstrated good will in the dialog and successful start in implementation of agreement on integrated checkpoints.
‘There shall be no new conditions but some countries are expecting more than what has been done until so far’, Suzana Grubjesic, Serbia deputy Prime Minister for European integrations says for Blic.
Vladimir Todoric, Director of the Center for New Politics explains for Blic that there is no consensus among the EU members whether new conditions should be set to Serbia regarding suspension of parallel institutions. He points out that it is not quite clear what conditions for getting of the date are – only implementation of integrated checkpoints or suspension of parallel institutions as well.
(Blic/Frotnal)
