Brussels, 24/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - Serbia would like the European Commission to turn a substantial proportion of this year's pre-accession aid - €120 million - into budgetary aid so that it can fund its plan to tackle the economic crisis. The request was made by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic at a meeting with Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn in Brussels on Monday 23 March. “Serbia proposes to relocate €120 million from the 2009 pre-accession instrument budget to targeted aid to help our reforms,” Djelic said at a joint press conference with Rehn. The budgetary aid would form part of the “general framework of the macro-financial plan that we are discussing with our partners the IMF and the World Bank,” he went on. Rehn gave no definitive response to the request, although he made it clear the Commission would be prepared to consider this option with no preconceptions. “The Commission is currently exploring the possibility of providing such budgetary support to Serbia in order to help maintain macro-economic stability and tackle the financial crisis,” he said, adding, “We care for Serbia and this (possible EU budgetary aid: Ed) will be a tangible sign of our European solidarity”.
Visas. Rehn also announced that he, along with Justice, Liberty and Security Commissioner Jacques Barrot, would, over the course of the next few weeks, present country-by-country reports on how the Balkan countries, including Serbia, are meeting the criteria on possible visa-free travel. “The objective is to achieve visa-free travel for those countries that meet the requirements in the course of 2009,” the commissioner said.
SAA. Although the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) is currently being blocked by the Netherlands, the Serbian government has decided to apply it unilaterally so as not to lose any time on its way to European integration, Djelic said. This approach, he went on, had borne its first fruit: he told Rehn that the Serbian parliament had adopted a number of important texts required by the SAA, including a law on state aid, another on competition and all the laws necessary in preparation for visa-free travel. Under the national programme for the adoption of the acquis communautaire, most of the EU legislation will be adopted by 2012, Djelic said. (H.B./transl.rt)