POLITICAL DIALOG OF SERBIA AND EU

The candidacy of Serbia for membership in the EU will be the topic of a political dialog on January 26 in Brussels, Spanish Ambassador Inigo de Palacio Espana has announced in Belgrade. The meeting will be attended by the heads of diplomacy from Serbia and Spain, i.e. Vuk Jeremic and Miguel Angel Moratinos respectively. The Spanish presidency of the EU will present information on the hitherto steps and inclusion of the candidature on the agenda of the ministerial session. Dusica Maticki has more about what this meeting could yield.

“I believe Serbia will get a clear insight into where do we stand and what are its next moves relating to the candidacy”, said Ambassador De Palacio Espana, while stressing that his country is strongly in support of Serbia. He added, however, that the ministerial session on January 26, in line with its format is not the place where a formal decision on the sending of Serbia’s request to the European Commission could be made. That decision is made by the Council of General Affairs, so it is hard to predict when it will be on the agenda. The Spanish Ambassador has explained that the procedure is additionally burdened by the distribution of competencies within EU institutions. The transition period that has been started on December 1 last year, with the Lisbon Treaty coming into power, should end soon. It is still uncertain which of the roles will stay with the six-month presidency over the EU ,and which will belong to the permanent Chairman Herman von Rompouy, i.e. to Catherine Ashton and Stefan Fiele, as commissioners for foreign affairs and association.

While presenting the program of future work in the European Parliament, the nominated commissioner for enlargement and neighborhood policy, Czech diplomat Stefan Fiele has underlined that the enlargement is in the interest of the Union, because it is a factor of stability. EU Commissioner for Common Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton has also said that the future of the West Balkans will be one of the priorities of its work, adding that she wishes the entire region to make progress towards the Union.

Another important step in the process of Serbia’s integration is the unfreezing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement. The decision on this issue needs to be made by all member-states, but Spain believes it could happen in June, when the discussion on this subject is planned. “In our opinion, Serbia has been fully cooperating with the Hague Tribunal lately, which is confirmed by the report of Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz. If it continues, I do not see how could we make any other conclusion instead of unfreezing the Stabilization and Association Agreement”, emphasized Inigo de Palacio Espana. In view of the same topic, Director of the Serbian Government Office of European Integration Milica Delevic has stated that the EU should have a perception of Serbia doing everything to fulfill its Hague obligations. According to her, it is better to focus on extraditing the remaining fugitives to The Hague than what are the next phases in the European integrations to be reached.

The EU is paying special attention to the improvement of regional cooperation, and Serbia has demonstrated in the past period that it is exerting effort in that direction, assessed the Spanish Ambassador. In comment to the mutual lawsuits of Croatia and Serbia before the International Court of Justice, he said that it would be better to look for the solution through a friendly dialog. Head of the EU Delegation in Serbia Vincent Degert agrees with the stance that dialog is the best way to overcome the bilateral and regional problems.

At the end of last year, 68% of the respondents in a survey in Serbia were in support of Serbia’s membership in the EU. Such a result was contributed to by the visa liberalization and implementation of the Interim Trade Agreement. It can be expected that the potential positive signal from Brussels would lead to even greater support among the Serbian citizens.

Source:glassrbije.org/

EU-Serbia meeting on January 26

BELGRADE -- The EU and Serbia will continue regular meetings through the so-called political dialogue on January 26.

One of the main topics will be the question of Belgrade’s candidacy for EU membership.

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić will be leading the Serbian delegation while the EU team will be headed by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.

The European delegation will also include Belgian officials, whose country will be taking over the EU presidency in the second half of 2010.

The political dialogue will be held on the margins of the Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels, during a working breakfast, Belgrade daily Politika writes.

“At this moment, we cannot confirm the participation of EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policies and European Commission Vice-President Catherine Ashton, as well as Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele,” the Spanish presidency stated.

Because of the transition of authorities in the Brussels institutions, which are a result of the Lisbon agreement taking power, it is not certain whether Aston and Fuele will be attending.

On the same day, the European Parliament will be voting on officially naming the new EC members, including Ashton and Fuele.

The talks will include discussion on Serbia’s EU membership candidacy, relations in the region, bilateral implementation of the Interim Trade Agreement, and reforms that Belgrade is working on.

As far as the candidacy is concerned, the Spanish presidency is expected to inform Jeremić on the recent steps taken and when the candidacy application will be on the agenda of the Council of Ministers.

The Spanish presidency has informed the Committee of Permanent Ambassadors of EU member-states in Brussels that Serbia has submitted its application for candidate status, and that the committee should discuss the demand before it is given to the Council of Ministers.

According to unofficial information, Serbia’s demand could be sent to the EU ministers in February, and then depending on their decision, it could be either forwarded to the European Commission or given back to the committee for further consultations.

Source:b92.net/

Ljajic: withdrawing the lawsuit is not of key importance for Serbia

The withdrawal of mutual lawsuits for genocide between Serbia and Croatia is not of the key importance for Belgrade, as there are several other open issues that need to be resolved, assessed President of the national Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal Rasim Ljajic. He told BETA that Serbia is not interested in overly insisting on the withdrawal of lawsuits. Croatia is on the move, and Belgrade has no reason to hide from the verdict of the International Court of Justice, explained Ljajic. He pointed to some other unresolved problems in the relations of the two sides, including the issues of refugees, unsettled housing rights, borders and disproportion in economic relations, i.e. the fact that only 4 or 5 Serbian companies are present in Croatia.

Soource:glassrbije.org/

Recasting Serbia’s Image, Starting With a Fresh Face

THE public face of Serbia for years has been that of a wizened war criminal in the dock in The Hague. Now, as the once-outcast country presses for membership in the European Union, it is increasingly represented by the gap-toothed grin of its energetic young foreign minister, Vuk Jeremic, all of 34 and a graduate of Cambridge and Harvard.

It is not just appearances. He is a minister in the most westward-leaning government Serbia has ever had, one that is aggressively pursuing membership in the European Union and good relations with the United States. Yet at the top of his agenda stands the issue that brought so much trouble to Serbia: the breakaway province and self-declared nation of Kosovo.

To the consternation of powerful supporters of Kosovo’s independence, including the United States, the Serbian obsession runs much deeper than a handful of ultranationalists from the generation of Slobodan Milosevic. Even young liberals like Mr. Jeremic, whose fluent English sounds more Bronxville than Belgrade, cannot let go of Kosovo, though it could endanger Serbia’s chance to move beyond its recent troubled past.

“The fact that this kind of fervent, pro-European politician in Serbia happens to have this position on Kosovo confuses a lot of people,” Mr. Jeremic said in an interview on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas here last week.

“This place, Kosovo, is our Jerusalem; you just can’t treat it any other way than our Jerusalem,” he said.

As if to underscore the point, his mentor and psychology teacher two decades ago at the First Belgrade High School, the current Serbian president, Boris Tadic, spent the holiday at the Visoki Decani monastery in Kosovo, under guard amid protests by local ethnic Albanians.

Mr. Jeremic quickly added that Serbia was not pressing its case through the use of arms, directly or in the form of paramilitary groups, but through institutions like the International Court of Justice, which will rule on the manner in which Kosovo declared independence. But the stakes are different, with vastly improved relations with the European Union and an end to Serbia’s isolation on the line.

Mr. Jeremic is at pains to explain to Western audiences that Serbia’s reputation from the Milosevic years had overshadowed the reality that it is now a democracy, and one whose voters twice chose pro-Western candidates in the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2008 — despite the inflamed nationalist sentiment in the wake of Kosovo’s secession.

He was appointed foreign minister at 31, too young and inexperienced in the eyes of many Serbs to be trusted with their most important national issue — the impending secession of Kosovo. Yet, he has fought hard for Kosovo, lobbying governments around the world against recognizing its independence and becoming along the way one of Serbia’s most popular politicians.

Mr. Jeremic’s stridency on Kosovo has led his opponents to charge that he was a closet nationalist, talking one line when he was abroad and quite a different one at home in the Balkans. “Personally, I don’t think I’m a nationalist,” he said. “I’m half Bosnian and half Serb.”

Mr. Jeremic’s great-grandfather on his mother’s side was Nurija Pozderac, a prominent Muslim politician before World War II who joined Tito’s Partisans to fight the Nazis and was killed in 1943. His paternal grandfather was an officer in the king’s army and spent much of the war as a prisoner at Dachau. Once he was liberated by the Allies, he returned to Serbia on foot, Mr. Jeremic said.

HE described a normal childhood in Belgrade, including a close relationship with his psychology teacher, Mr. Tadic. But his father, who worked for the state-owned oil company, and his mother went into exile after running afoul of the regime, and Mr. Jeremic finished high school in London before moving on to Cambridge, where he studied theoretical physics.

His time at Cambridge, which coincided with the war in Bosnia, helped him to understand Serbia’s image abroad in a very personal way. “It was hard to explain that you come from Serbia and you’re not a children-eating radical,” said Mr. Jeremic, who had family members fighting on both sides of the war in Bosnia.

Mr. Jeremic opposed the regime of Mr. Milosevic and was a founder of the Organization of Serbian Students Abroad in 1997, but it was during the NATO bombing of Serbia that he hardened his resolve to work for his country. He said he had high school friends who were also opposed to Mr. Milosevic’s reign but were called up for compulsory army service at the time of the airstrikes in 1999. Once they were wearing their uniforms, they were “legitimate targets,” as he put it ruefully, and some were killed.

He recalled thinking at the time: “This regime, this government, this guy, Slobodan Milosevic, he has to be removed, because he’s going to get us all buried. If he stays, he’s going to get us all buried.”

Mr. Jeremic traveled to Serbia to support the student movement there, known as Otpor, the Serbian word for resistance. After Mr. Milosevic’s ouster Mr. Jeremic followed Mr. Tadic through a succession of ministries as an adviser, taking a break for a degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, before himself becoming foreign minister.

With Serbia’s scant resources and tattered public image, his options for fighting the diplomatic might of countries supporting Kosovo, like the United States, Germany and Britain, seemed limited. But Mr. Jeremic, who still looks and sounds a bit like an overachieving college class president, turned himself into a one-man road show, traveling to 90 countries in the two years since becoming foreign minister. Last year alone he spent 700 hours in the air, or roughly 29 days, much of that in a 30-year-old French-built Falcon 50 jet that was bought for Tito.

MR. JEREMIC sees his age, which many consider a weakness, as one of his assets. “When you’re young, and when you come and they see you for the first time, a lot of them are just kind of surprised. They say, ‘Who’s this kid?’

“That’s actually a good thing because it opens up their minds. They’re curious. They want to hear what you have to say to them because you’re different,” he said. An afternoon with Mr. Jeremic, whose wife, Natasa Lekic, is a news anchor on Serbian public television, is a pleasant but intense experience, not complete without a glass of Serbian Carigrad red wine and a stream of articulate defenses of the country’s claim to Kosovo.

Smoking a cigar and sipping his wine, Mr. Jeremic refused to say what Serbia would demand if it managed to force Kosovo back to the negotiating table by winning its case before the International Court of Justice. He insisted that the mistake the United States and its allies made before Kosovo’s declaration was dictating rather than discussing terms.

Their other big mistake, he said, was expecting Serbia simply to acquiesce to the loss of the province, cowed in the face of American and Western European recognition for Kosovo. “This energy we invested, you know, in going around the world, has surprised a lot of people,” Mr. Jeremic said. “A lot of people didn’t expect us to dare to try.”

Source:nytimes.com/

Serbia formally applies for EU membership

On 22 December 2009 Serbia submitted a formal application for membership of the EU. Serbian President Boris Tadic handed his country's application for EU membership to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt in Stockholm.

"I welcome this historic step for Serbia. It reflects the Serbian government's strong determination and the broad popular support for EU membership. A Serbian membership is important not just for Serbia, but for the region as a whole. This is an important addition to the EU family", said Fredrik Reinfeldt at a press conference.

"This is an historic day for my country. It is the tenth year of democratic life, ten years after the end of the war, ten years after the end of our isolation. During these ten years, our main goal has been to bring Serbia into the EU. Now we will continue with the reform work in the hope of becoming a full EU member in a few years' time", said Boris Tadic.

Olli Rehn, the outgoing European Commissioner for EU enlargement, also attended the press conference. He noted that Serbia had come a long way over the past ten years: "I speak on the behalf of the entire European Commission when I say that the Commission is looking forward to working with Serbia. Serbia is a key country on the Western Balkans and we can now see that the whole region is moving closer to the EU. This is important from a peace-keeping point of view and to the future of Europe".

Source:lexology.com/l

Segezha Packaging closes converting facility in Serbia

Segezha Packaging has closed a converting facility run by Segezha Packaging doo in Backa Palanka, Serbia. A company spokesperson said that paper sack production was suspended at the end of December 2009. Segezha was planning to merge its production capacities at larger, more efficient units. Consequently, the majority of Segezha Packaging doo's production will be transferred to the group's modernised plants in Uvalno, Czech Republic and Ploiesti, Romania.

Source:euwid-paper.com/

Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić pledges EU future for Belgrade

Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić said Belgrade will apply for EU membership before the end of the year, with the aim of joining within seven years. Speaking to us during his visit to the European Parliament on 5 November, the youthful Mr Jeremić (34) stressed his view that disagreements over Kosovo independence should be separated from negotiations over the EU. He also spoke of the cultural heritage and the strong relationship with Moscow that Serbia can bring to the Union.

When do you think Serbia will join the European Union?

It is very difficult to predict, but I think it will be in about five to seven years. For some Western Balkan countries EU accession is becoming imminent (Croatia is close to joining). It is also a political decision amongst existing EU members. Serbia has to make sure it gets there as soon as possible.

When are you going to table Serbia's application?

We have a very strong intention to apply before the end of this year. Our domestic debate, about which way we want to go politically, is already over. We had two different polls last year with Presidential and Parliamentary elections and both answered "yes" to an EU future.

The Serbian people have not always been favourable towards the EU, what is the level of support at present?

At the end of last year and the start of this one support reached a high of 85%. Polls now show that 70% of the population is favourable towards membership of EU.

Did opinion change when many EU countries recognised Kosovo (which was part of Serbia) in 2008?

Well, it is something that isn't adding to the support, it is not positive. We have managed to compartmentalise this issue with our European partners who have recognised Kosovo. We are maintaining strict separation between EU integration and determining the future status of Kosovo. This is the official policy of Serbia and the official policy of the EU. It is very important we keep it this way.

What can Serbia contribute to the EU?

The biggest contribution is peace and stability. Other contributions would include our historical and cultural legacy. Our customs would also add to the diversity in the EU.

It's very difficult to imagine a stable, peaceful and prosperous part of Europe that has a big black hole right in it. I am an optimist and I hope the entire Western Balkans is going to accede to the EU in this generation.

Would you describe Serbia as an anchor of stability or as a bridge between Europe and Russia?

In the sense of peace and stability in the Balkans it is definitely an anchor. If you look at the map physically, you would definitely know where to put that anchor.

As for Russia, we have a historical relation which goes back centuries. We have the same alphabet, we share the same faith. We are culturally very close, we have been partners and allies in world conflicts and today Russia is also an important supporter when it comes to our diplomatic efforts to defend our territory and sovereignty.

Russia also supports us when it comes to our wish to become a member state of the EU. So, Russia is a good friend and Russia is always going to stay a good friend of Serbia. And I think one day when Serbia joins the EU, Serbia can help improve the understanding between Russia and the EU.

Visa free travel is a matter of weeks away. What benefits will it bring to Serbian citizens and particularly to the young generation?

It is going to be a great relief, like the falling of a huge boulder. It has been particularly frustrating for us in the former Yugoslavia because we used to travel freely everywhere in the world - both east and west. So that was really a time that lots of people remember and going back to that situation is going to bring a sigh of relief: "We are normal again".

This is especially important for the younger generation because they have grown up in an atmosphere of isolation, this new generation has never had a chance to see what Europe is about. We say that being an EU member is a great thing and these guys have to see what exactly that means.

You held talks with EP President Jerzy Buzek. How can the EP help Serbia in its European ambitious?

The European Parliament is going to play an increasingly important role in the life of Europe after the Lisbon Treaty. We are looking forward to working very closely with the EP. There are interesting times ahead.



Source:penki.lt