Brussels, 04/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, the European Commission and the High Representative of the EU for CFSP, Javier Solana, reiterated that the resumption of negotiations between the EU and Serbia with a view to the conclusion of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) would depend on a "substantial improvement" (of Belgrade's cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Further to a meeting in Brussels with the Serbian Finance Minister, Mladjan Dinkic, Mr Solana stressed that the EU was prepared and willing to resume talks on the SAA- which have been suspended since last May- but only after a positive opinion from Carla del Ponte on Belgrade's cooperation with ICTY. To this end, Mr Solana called upon the Serbian government rapidly to implement the action plan agreed last July (EUROPE 9235). Mr Dinkic said that he was confident that Serbia would be able to obtain the status of candidate country for EU accession in 2007, once the issue of cooperation with ICTY is resolved. On this, the spokesperson to Commissioner Olli Rehn declined, on Monday, to go further than to say: "the Commission remains committed to strengthening relations with Serbia. We believe that Serbia has the potential to catch up (on the time it has lost in achieving) its European prospects. But there will be no shortcuts. Serbia must now take rapid measures in order to make progress on the ground and to meet conditions regarding ICTY, in order that negotiations on an SAA can be resumed". A section of the Serbian press had been speculating, in the last few days, about the resumption of SAA negotiations "in early October", and had quoted "European sources" in affirming that the extradition of Radko Mladic to ICTY would, however, remain a condition for the country to obtain candidate country status.