Brussels, 01/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Following a meeting with José Manuel Barroso on 31 January, the Serbian prime minister, Mirko Cvetkovic, declared that Serbia hoped to obtain accession candidate country status and a date for opening accession talks by the end of this year. The head of the Serbian government had come to Brussels to submit his country's answers to the Commission's “questionnaire”, which followed Belgrade's accession request in December 2009. It is on the basis of these responses that the Commission is now preparing its “opinion” on Serbia's candidacy, which is expected in the second half of this year. In his address to the press, Barroso did not provide any indications on the result of this process and would only say that “we will assess the merits of Serbia's membership application. We will check whether Serbia has sufficiently met the criteria and will then decide whether to recommend candidate status and the opening of accession negotiations”. Barroso insisted that whilst awaiting the Commission's opinion, Serbia must “keep up the momentum” and continue with reforms to tackle problems identified by the Commission in its recent 2010 progress report. He welcomed the fact that the government had adopted a specific “action plan” for tackling all these different points. Barroso also highlighted the necessity of ensuring “full co-operation” with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and affirmed that “this remains an essential condition for EU membership”.
Kosovo. The Serbian prime minister confirmed that his country was “prepared for a dialogue” with the Kosovo authorities (which Belgrade does not recognise), under the auspices of the EU. The Serbian government has appointed a head of the negotiating team and has taken necessary technical measures, explained Cvetkovic, underlining the fact that dialogue was “the only way to solve problems”. Barroso is hoping that Belgrade and Pristina seize the opportunity of dialogue for solving practical questions affecting the daily lives of all the communities living in Kosovo. He added that he hoped this process “starts quickly”. (H.B./transl.fl)