Belgrade, 06. 01. 2010.

AMBASSADORS' CONFERENCE IN BELGRADE

BELGRADE, Jan 5 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said Tuesday that the priorities of Serbia's foreign policy in 2010 will be to pursue the process of integration in the European Union, preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, strengthen regional cooperation and good neighborly relations, and boost economic diplomacy.

At the ambassadors' conference in Belgrade, Tadic pointed out that EU membership is the main priority of Serbian foreign policy and that it does not have an alternative, adding that this priority is the result of the will that the citizens unambiguously expressed in the elections. Tadic said that in all his talks with foreign representatives, he made it clear that Serbia does not expect any new criteria for integration in the European Union, or any special treatment either.

The president stressed that he believes 2014 to be a possible year of Western Balkans' integration into the EU, noting that during 2009, Serbia achieved great successes on its European pathway by visa liberalization, the unfreezing of the Interim Trade Agreement and applying for the EU candidacy.

Tadic underscored that the country will continue its active cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and expressed his expectation that there will be success in that field in the following period.

Tadic also expressed hope that the Stabilization and Association Agreement will be ratified during Spain's EU presidency, which would pave the way for Serbia to become an official candidate for membership by the end of this year or the beginning of the next.

The preservation of territorial integrity and sovereignty in Kosovo-Metohija is the second priority of the country's foreign policy, Tadic underlined, adding that Serbia will never acknowledge the independence of its southern province neither explicitly nor implicitly. "We will be ready to sit at the negotiating table with the representatives of international institutions in Pristina, after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) makes its decision. Serbia will not pursue the policy of violence, but we do not expect that, during the legal proceedings before the ICJ, any prejudgment about the court's decision will be made and we hold that no pressure is to be put regarding the recognition of the illegal political creation of Kosovo," he pointed out.

Tadic added that, when it comes to regional cooperation, Serbia wants the best possible relations with its neighbors, pointing out that the country has been actively contributing to such relations. In the past few years, Serbia realized considerable progess in its relations with Slovenia, Hungary and Romania, he said, emphasizing also the traditional friendhip with Greece. Relations with Albania should not be neglected either, he said.

As regards relations with Montenegro, Tadic said that Serbia was disappointed by its recognition of the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo, but expressed his conviction that the majority of Montenegrin citizens will never support the decision of its authorities.

As regards the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, he said that Serbia sees the Dayton Accord as the basis for building bilateral relations, adding that the problems dating from the nineties must be overcome. He underlined that Serbia has an obligation to adopt a resolution on Srebrenica as well as all other resolutions on crimes committed in Bosnia during the '90s, pointing out that this is a precondition for reconciliation in the region.

President Tadic underscored that economic diplomacy will be yet another foreign policy priority, and stressed that Serbian economy has been import-oriented for a number of decades now, and that the objective of economic diplomacy will be to orient the country towards exports. Tadic, however, noted that this will not be possible without foreign investments.

Another success of Serbia's foreign policy is articulation of its relations with the greatest world powers - Russia, the US and China, he said. Greek Prime Minister and Foreign Minister George Papandreou was the guest of honor at the conference attended by Serbian ambassadors.

At his meeting with Papandreou, Tadic said that Serbia is ready to mediate in the two-decades long dispute between Athens and Skopje regarding the name Macedonia, which has already postponed twice the EU integration of that former Yugoslav republic. Serbia is always ready to mediate in resolving issues troubling Macedonia, Tadic said.

BELGRADE, Jan 5 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic told Serbia's ambassadors that the country must promote its economic potential in order to increase exports. At the ambassadors' conference, he said that Serbia puts a lot of effort into economic diplomacy, and that the promotion of the economic environment is important for attracting foreign investments, without which there can be no economic recovery.

The prime minister reminded that Serbia's economic indicators are much better than in other countries, and according to him, the estimated gross domestic product (GDP) drop in 2009 will total 2.8 to three percent. He noted that the consolidated budget deficit in 2009 amounted to 4.5 percent of the GDP, which is also lower than in other countries. Cvetkovic also touched upon foreign policy priorities, pointing out that Serbia's main course is that of European integration. He reminded that Serbia has an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, and that foreign currency reserves reached EUR 10.5 billion thanks to the government's stable economic policy.

The prime minister said that in the year of crisis, Serbia was among the few countries to improve its credit rating with the Standard and Poor's agency. Cvetkovic stressed that the government's reforms will be directed at the public sector and public enterprises, and announced big projects in the railway, electric power and telecommunications industries.

BELGRADE, Jan 5 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic said Tuesday that internal political stability is the pre-condition for realizing foreign policy goals.

Addressing the ambassadors' conference being held in Belgrade, Dacic said that early elections have become a rule in Serbia and regular ones an exception, noting that it should be the contrary. He reiterated that a series of reforms are underway in the Ministry of the Interior and the police aimed at adopting European standards.

The Ministry of the Interior and the police are ready to cooperate with the police of all states in fighting organized crime, he said. A series of agreements will be signed this year with the police of Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Turkey and the Scandinavian countries, Dacic said. He also pointed to the importance of regional political cooperation, and pointed to the good cooperation with the police of Croaia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which resulted in the arrest of the suspects for the murder of journalist Ivo Pukanic and of Darko Elez's criminal group.

BELGRADE, Jan 6 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic has stated that he is satisfied with the work of the government, adding that the reconstruction of the cabinet is not currently being discussed but that it is never completely excluded. "It may happen that the coalitional partners meet and discuss the reduction of the departments," Cvetkovic said in an interview for the Belgrade-based daily Blic.

"In general, I am satisfied with the government's work and I would like to underscore that the current government might realize its promises by the end of its mandate. Someone may say that Serbia has not taken the right position in the conditions of the global financial crisis, but I would oppose that. Every ministry has done an important part of the job and with the funds that we had, we have survived the previous year," Cvetkovic said.

The prime minister said that the realization of the set goal in view of the EU integration process was a strategically important achievement of the Serbian government. He stated that he is satisfied with the functioning of the justice, police and foreign affairs ministries and the EU Integration Office.

He underscored that Serbian Justice Minister Snezana Malovic was the bravest, given that she launched a very important reform of the ministry. Cvetkovic believes, although he did not want to speculate about the date, that it is realistic for Serbia to acquire the status of EU candidate in 2010.

BELGRADE, Jan 6 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic has said that the cooperation with the ICTY should be completed as soon as possible, and stressed that the police are doing all they can to track down the remaining Hague indictees.

"We are checking over all the locations that were tipped off by foreign services and our bodies. Serbia has to finish the cooperation with the Hague Tribunal as soon as possible. I can say that the police are constantly checking the information, and all of our daily activities are related to tracking down the indictees," Dacic said in an interview for the Wednesday edition of the Belgrade daily Vecernje novosti.

Speaking of the fight against drug bosses, he pointed out that there are around 35 organized criminal groups in Serbia, ten of which are involved in drug smuggling. "We know exactly who the bosses are, and the police have issued warrants for their arrest. Some of them are not in the country, but in the closest surroundings and Western Europe," he underlined.

The minister underscored that the police are investigating the process of privatization in some firms where there were complaints of the employees themselves or the state. "The thing that irritates me the most is when a person purchases a company, "sucks out" several million of euros, fires the employees, and then plays dumb. We will check over all those people whose businesses raise doubts", the minister of interior concluded.