SERBIA - EU

CVETKOVIC, ROMPUY DISCUSS EU INTEGRATIONS

BRUSSELS, March 5 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic stated in Brussels on Friday after the meeting with European Council President Herman van Rompuy that Serbia wants to continue its intensive EU approach in 2010 as well, adding that this is one of the top priorities of the Serbian government.
Cvetkovic expressed expectation that the process of ratification of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) will soon be launched and the talks on Belgrade's EU candidacy bid resumed. Cvetkovic qualified the talks with Rompuy as very fruitful, adding that Serbia is determined to complete its cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.
Rompuy said that the EU offers full support to the European perspective of the whole West Balkans since it is important for the stability in the area. He welcomed the fact that Serbia and the EU are now able to implement the Interim Trade Agreement (ITA) and underscored that the European Council has decided to discuss the SAA in June.
Rompuy encouraged Cvetkovic to continue with economic reforms in spite of the economic crisis and pointed out that this will contribute to the promotion of the rule of law and acceleration of the economic reforms. Rompuy informed Cvetkovic on his Thursday meeting with ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz. According to him, it is important for Serbia to continue to put in efforts in its cooperation with the ICTY, adding that they could yield further positive results in future. Rompuy also underscored that regional cooperation is crucial for the process of stabilization and the Western Balkan's approach to the EU. This implies normalization of relations between neighbors. Kosovo should be included in regional cooperation in a pragmatic way, he said.

CVETKOVIC, LETERME CONFER ON ASYLUM SEEKERS

BRUSSELS, March 5 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said Friday after meeting his Belgian counterpart Yves Leterme in Brussels that agreement was reached that both countries do everything to implement the process of return of asylum seekers to Serbia as speedily as possible.
All legal measures will also be taken to prevent recurrence of the problem, he said. A series of practical and technical measures have been coordinated and the number of asylum seekers is expected to be reduced to a minimum, he said. Serbia is not a country in which human rights are being violated and requests for asylum cannot therefore be granted, Cvetkovic said.
Leterme said that Belgian State Secretary for Immigration and Asylum Melchior Wathelet will travel to Presevo, southern Serbia, next week to confer on this problem with representatives of local authorities. The European Commission and its President Jose Manuel Barroso have been informed of the problem of asylum seekers from Serbia and were asked to take part in the endeavors to resolve it, he said. Since the beginning of this year, a considerable increase in the number of requests for asylum has been registered in Belgium. Most of the asylum seekers are Roma and mainly come from southern Serbia.
Cvetkovic said that his talk with Leterme also focused on Serbia's integration in the European Union and on economic cooperation. Belgium fully supports Serbia and all other Western Balkan countries in their endeavors for integration in the European Union, he said. A bilateral agreement on road transport has been signed regulating relations between Serbian and Belgian transporters and envisaging various facilities, he said. The agreement demonstrates the progress achieved in economic cooperation between Serbia and Belgium, Cvetkovic said.

BARROSO: EC SUPPORTS SERBIA'S EU INTEGRATION

BRUSSELS, March 5 (Tanjug) - European Commission (EC) President Jose Manuel Barroso said Friday that the EC will be ready to state its opinion on Serbia's candidacy for European Union membership as soon as the EU Council requests it to do so.
After meeting Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, Barroso told a joint press conference in Brussels that the EC supports Serbia's EU integration. Barroso pointed to great progress achieved in 2009, including visa liberalization, unfreezing of the Interim Trade Agreement and Serbia's application for candidacy for EU membership. Asked whether Serbia is being asked to choose between Kosovo and the EU and whether recognition of Kosovo's independence will be set as a condition for Serbia's EU integration, he said that the EU encourages Serbia to continue making progress towards EU integration.
Whatever the stand on Kosovo status, although there are sometimes differences in this regard, it should not postpone or prevent Serbia's EU integration, he said. It is important for Serbia to continue to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Barroso said. It is also important for Serbia to continue making progress towards key goals such as reforms of the economic and judiciary sectors, he said. As regards the problem of asylum seekers from Serbia in the EU, Barroso said this problem should be approached seriously. He added that Cvetkovic informed him that Serbia is determined to overcome this problem.
Cvetkovic emphasized that Serbia has a pro-European government and that integration in the EU is at the top of its priorities. Serbia is committed to EU integration and the ball is now in its own court, he said. Serbia needs reforms of its economic, financial and judiciary sectors, as well as cooperation with ICTY, he said. Above all, Serbia needs to embrace European values, Cvetkovic said.

CVETKOVIC: NEW BORDER CROSSING WITH ROMANIA TO OPEN SOON

BELGRADE, March 6 (Tanjug) - Serbia's prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic announced Saturday the opening of a new border crossing with Romania near Kladovo.
Cvetkovic told Tanjug that he had received a letter from Romania's Prime Minister Emil Boc, in which he supported the opening of the new border crossing. Cvetkovic noted that it is going to be another symbolic confirmation of the policy of regional cooperation that is being conducted on a daily basis.

JEREMIC: EU MEMBERSHIP IS CHIEF POLITICAL GOAL FOR SERBIA

MADRID, March 7 (Tanjug) - Serbia's chief political goal is to become an EU member, and Spain is one of the most supportive countries when it comes to that, Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told El Mundo, a Spanish daily. "No one doubts that Serbia will become an EU member.
No country is against our membership, it is just that some countries are questioning the pace of that process. Our closest partners say that the whole process can be completed by 2014," Jeremic pointed out, adding that such a thing would be excellent for Serbia, but that it would not be too bad if Serbia ended up having to wait a little longer. El Mundo states that Kosovo is an unpleasant obstacle in the way of Serbia's European integration, remarking that France is one of many countries asking that Serbia give up on Kosovo if it is to join the EU.
Jeremic, however, rejects that option. "Kosovo is a part of Serbia and the unilaterally declared independence will not be recognized. Everyone should be absolutely clear about the fact that we will never accept Kosovo as a country," Jeremic stressed.

FAJON: WAVE OF NEW IMMIGRANTS TO BE URGENTLY STOPPED

BRUSSELS, March 4 (Tanjug) - European Parliament Special Rapporteur for Visa Liberalisation Tanja Fajon stated Friday that the wave of new immigrants to the EU who are seeking asylum must be urgently stopped, and called on the West Balkan countries to explain the significance and the point of visa liberalisation to their citizens.
According to the statement of Fajon's office delivered to Tanjug, she said that politicians should explain the benefits from the visa liberalisation, rather than to use it for collecting political points. She pointed out that the latest news on the increase of asylum seekers from Serbia and Macedonia in Germany and Belgium create dilemmas and instill fears about whether the decision on the abolishment of Schengen visas for these countries was the right one. She also said that the visa liberalisation for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania in 2010 should not be jeopardized.

SERBIA - REGION

KOSOVO TO ATTEND IN ACCORDANCE WITH RESOLUTION 1244

PTUJ, March 5 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said Friday that Serbia will attend the South East Europe heads of state conference in Slovenia on March 20 only if the presence of Kosovo representatives is in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
"That is the prerequisite for Serbia to attend such a forum," said Tadic after meeting with Slovenia's and Croatia's prime ministers, Borut Pahor and Jadranka Kosor respectively. Stressing that Serbia wishes for the issue of Kosovo Albanian representatives' participation in the forum to be solved as soon as possible, Tadic stated that Kosovo has been presented in accordance with Resolution 1244 at international conferences so far and there is no reason to change that. "We see no problem with sticking to that principle in the future as well," Tadic said.
Tadic and the two prime ministers emphasized the importance of strengthening economic cooperation between Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. "It is the need of all the people and countries in southeastern Europe that a good political climate be established, which is a condition for reconciliation and to secure investments for our countries," Tadic noted.
Remarking that EU membership is a common interest in the region, Tadic said that its countries have to solve open issues step by step on their path to European integration and prevent any new disputes. Pointing out the importance of the conference on March 20, the two prime ministers, who will be co-organizing the event, said that the emphasis will be on issues of economic cooperation and ways in which the region could improve stability and security throughout Europe.
Tadic, Pahor and Kosor agreed to establish permanent contact between each other so that they could solve mutually important issues in the most efficient way, to which end they will hold the next meeting in Zagreb, with Belgrade to follow. That permanent contact improves the trust between the three countries' leaders, said Pahor, adding that consensus among such high officials means that some problems can be solved.
Commenting on economic cooperation between Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, Pahor underscored that the three economic systems are complementary and offer great possibilities for joint appearances on foreign markets. Pahor stated he was pleased that some open issues regarding the coming conference were resolved during the meeting.

ZBOGAR: CONFERENCE TO BE HELD WITH NO DELEGATION NAMES

CORDOBA, March 6 (Tanjug) - The conference on Western Balkans, scheduled for March 20 in Slovenia, will be held without displaying the names of participant delegations and with the presence of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Slovenia's Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar announced in Cordoba on Friday.
Zbogar explained that such measures were according to the EU pattern for organizing such events. Zbogar noted that many high officials from the EU will also be attending the conference, like European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule and officials from Spain, the country currently presiding over the EU, the Slovenian news agency STA reported.

TADIC'S CABINET: NO AGREEMENT REACHED ABOUT CONFERENCE
BELGRADE, March 6 (Tanjug) - The cabinet of Serbian President Boris Tadic denied Saturday that it had been agreed that there would be no delegation names displayed during the Western Balkan conference in Slovenia on March 20.
"Serbia remains true to its stand that Kosovo and Metohija has to be represented according to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 at regional meetings and summits," the cabinet announced. Slovenia's Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar told the press in Cordoba, Spain, that the conference will be organized according to the EU pattern for such events, meaning that delegation names will not be displayed and the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo will be present.
Tadic said Friday after a trilateral meeting with Croatian and Slovenian prime ministers that Serbia will attend the conference only if the presence of the representatives of Kosovo Albanians is in accordance with Resolution 1244.

SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO AGREE ON DIRECT COOPERATION

BELGRADE, March 5 (Tanjug) - The Serbian office of the organized crime prosecutor has announced that a meeting was held in Belgrade on Friday with colleagues from Montenegro, where they agreed on direct cooperation in ongoing cases. The participants of the meeting "exchanged information on their ongoing cases and agreed on direct cooperation in the future."
The announcement says that the meeting was held "in accordance with the agreement made during the meeting between the two countries' justice ministries and prosecutors' offices held February 25, 2010."
The participants of the February 25 meeting agreed to improve their cooperation significantly in the coming period and overcome procedural problems related to providing international legal assistance through a more efficient communication between the two countries' government institutions and prosecutors' offices.

SERBIA

JAPANESE ARMY DELEGATION VISITS SERBIA

BELGRADE, March 5 (Tanjug) - A delegation of the Japanese armed forces visited Serbia Wednesday and Thursday to foster cooperation with the Serbian Army and learn about its organization. The talks at the Serbian Army General Staff focused on prospects for civilian-military cooperation, the Serbian Army said on its website.
The delegation visited the second brigade of the land army in Kraljevo and a primary school in Lapovo, central Serbia, which was recently reconstructed by the Serbian Army and Ohio National Guard. The Japanese delegation comprised researcher at the National Institute for Defense Studies Eisuke Kigami, representative of the Agency for International Cooperation Satoru Kurosawa and Military Attaché in Serbia Soichiro Nakamura.

TADIC: GOVERNMENT TO COME OUT WITH 10-YEAR PLAN SOON

STARA PAZOVA, March 6 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic announced Saturday that the government will soon present a 10-year plan, which should help turn Serbia into a stable and moderately developed European society, and he asked for citizen support on that.
Speaking at a meeting of the Democratic Party (DS) Main Board in Stara Pazova, Tadic noted that there is "both good and bad information" in Serbia today, bad being that the budget is not filling up at the expected rate and that budget revenue in January dropped by 8.5 percent. Unemployment is at 17 percent in Serbia, while it is at 20 in Spain, but that, as Tadic put it, cannot be a comfort to the Serbian citizens or government. Tadic says that the fact a huge growth of unemployment was prevented during the world economic crisis is good news, adding that Serbia will come out of the recession in 2010 according to economic parameters, but that it does not mean the living standard for its people will improve.


SERBIA- ECONOMY, FINANCE

SERBIA'S FOREIGN DEBT AT END OF 2009 EUR 22.8 BILLION

BELGRADE, March 6 (Tanjug) - Serbia's foreign debt at the end of 2009 was EUR 22.8 billion, which was about EUR 1 billion more than at the start of the year, says the latest issue of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce bulletin Konjunkturni trendovi (Economic Trends).
According to the data from the Ministry of Finance, Serbia's public debt at the end of January 2010 was EUR 10.07 billion, which amounts to 30.5 percent of the GDP. The public debt at the end of 2009 was EUR 9.85 billion, meaning that it increased by EUR 216 million in January. The country's total direct debts at the end of January 2010 were EUR 8.67 billion, while indirect debts were at around EUR 1.4 billion.

SERBIA AND ALGERIA AGREE ON SPORT COOPERATION

BELGRADE, March 5 (Tanjug) - Serbia's Minister of Youth and Sport Snezana Samardzic Markovic said Friday that Serbia and Algeria agreed on some forms of sport cooperation during the recent visit to that country by a Serbian delegation.
"It has been agreed that Algerian national teams would conduct their preparations in Serbia, which has the necessary tourist and sport facilities, and that Serbian athletes would conduct their preparations in Algeria," Samardzic Markovic told a press conference. The minister said that Serbian sport professionals will be able to find well-paid jobs in Algeria, adding that experts in sport facility construction will also find great opportunities for work, since the country is investing heavily in sport.

STATEMENT SIGNED ON SERBIA-BULGARIA GAS INTERCONNECTION

BRUSSELS, March 5 (Tanjug) - Serbian Minister of Energy and Mining Petar Skundric and Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traycho Traykov signed a Joint Statement in Brussels Friday, in the presence of European Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger, which paves the way for the planned project of gas interconnection between the two countries.
The Joint Statement is an expression of commitment of the two countries' governments to the project of the Serbia-Bulgaria gas pipeline, which specifies further steps regarding the project. The European Commission and international financial institutions are called on to provide assistance in the preparation of the project and the studies related to it.

AGREEMENT ON CUSTOMS COOPERATION SIGNED WITH UKRAINE

BELGRADE, March 5 (Tanjug) - The governments of Serbia and Ukraine have signed the Agreement on mutual assistance in the domain of customs, which will further improve the customs cooperation with Ukraine, Serbia's very important foreign trade partner.
The Agreement was signed by Customs Administration Director Predrag Petronijevic, on the behalf of the Serbian government, and First Deputy Chairman of the State Customs Service of Ukraine Igor Pikovski, who signed the document on the behalf of the Ukrainian government. The main objective of the document is to ensure mutual assistance in the prevention and investigation of frauds in the field of customs, foreign exchange currency and foreign trade, and to enable exchange of information that will help suppress smuggling, it is said in a statement.
The Agreement is also aimed at a mutual harmonization of customs duties, improvement of customs techniques and resolution of the problems relating to the implementation of customs regulations, harmonization of such regulations, as well as simplification and speeding up of customs procedures regarding transportation of goods and passenger transport. The signing ceremony was also attended by Ukraine's Ambassador to Serbia Victor Nedopas.

KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

NATO TO SUSPEND KSF TRAINING

PRISTINA, March 8 (Tanjug) - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) stated on Sunday that it will suspend training of the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) because their representatives disregarded the prohibition of carrying weapons at the celebration of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in Pristina. NATO, which has pledged to provide training and supply weapons for the KSF, pointed out that the halt of these activities will last until the alliance is provided with an explanation on the incident at the parade and guarantees that such incidents will not happen again.
NATO also protested over the display of its flag at the parade, and underscored that the organization is neutral in view of Kosovo's independence. NATO called off its support to KSF, after their members appeared at the parade on Friday carrying guns which was opposed to their previous agreement. According to the NATO's plans, the KSF was set up for emergency reactions, such as natural hazards, and its formation was launched after the Kosovo Protection Corps was disbanded and the Kosovo leaders saw it as the basis of the future Kosovo army, the New York-based news agency Associated Press (AP) stated.

AGREEMENT REACHED ON CONSTRUCTION OF HIGHWAY ACROSS KOSOVO

PRISTINA, March 8 (Tanjug) - The Ministry of Transport and Telecomumunication in the Kosovo interim government and the Bechtel company reached an agreement on the construction of the Morina-Merdare highway, the Pristina media reported Monday, announcing that the contract will be signed on Thursday. The highway construction will be divided into several segments and the total value of the project is around EUR 700 million. The ministry spokesman Dzevdet Pozari told the media that the talks are underway and that nothing has yet been reached. As soon as we clarify all the points of the agreement with the company, we will announce our decision, Pozari said.
The Kosovo interim government adopted the proposal of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for the highway construction in January 2010, which is when they started the negotiations with the Bechtel-Enka company, which offered to build a 103 km-long highway, for EUR 7.5 to 8 per kilometer.