22/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - Belgrade hopes accession negotiations will be opened by summer 2013. The Serbian government's EU Integration Office director, Milan Pajevic, said on 22 August that he hopes Serbia will obtain the date for opning EU accession negotiations by summer 2013. “We can hope we shall acquire the date by next summer and begin talks in due time”, he said on Radio Television Serbia. Nevertheless, according to a poll published on 19 August, if an accession referendum were to take place currently, only 49% of Serbian electors would vote for it, 25% against, and 19% would abstain. Those who remain undecided count for 8%. The support of the Serbian population for accession has dropped 2 points since the beginning of the year, and 23% since the first poll in 2003. (CG/transl.fl)