The Czech Republic will ratify Croatia's Treaty of Accession to the European Union and there is no problem about it, Czech President Vaclav Klaus said, addressing a news conference after the completion of an informal quadrilateral meeting with his counterparts from Croatia, Slovakia and Serbia.

On behalf of the Czech Republic I would like to say that there are no problems with the ratification of Croatia's accession treaty. Slovakia was faster in doing that than we. We will also ratify the document, said Klaus, who hosted the quadrilateral summit with the presidents: Ivo Josipovic of Croatia, Ivan Gasparovic of Slovakia and Boris Tadic in Serbia, in the Lany Castle near the Czech capital of Prague on Saturday afternoon.

The four heads of state agreed the initiative for this summit gathering was useful and would continue.

Slovak President Gasparovic said that Croatia would soon become an EU member state and that he believed that Serbia would be granted a status of candidate country, describing Croatia and Serbia as two countries with decisive influence on the future of the Western Balkans.

Tadic said that he was confident that Serbia's EU membership would be primarily beneficial to his country.

Serbia's position is to look at the EU membership as an investment... membership brings about gains, he added.

Gasparovic went on to say that the EU could not make Serbia's candidate status conditional on its recognition of Kosovo.

Serbia must be assessed according to how it meets criteria and not with regard to the issue of Pristina, the Slovak president said.

All the four presidents agreed that Kosovo was not a condition for awarding Serbia with the status of candidate country.

Croatian President Josipovic confirmed that the recognition of Kosovo was not a condition for giving the status of EU candidate country to Croatia's eastern neighbour.

He, however, said that the European Union was closely following the developments and had its expectations.

You know that the recognition (of Kosovo) has not been a requirement for the application. Further political relations will show what course the developments will take and, hence, the EU will form its expectations in the end. I will remind you that Croatia had to meet political criteria apart from adopting the acquis, and we did it. I am certain that Serbia will do the same, Josipovic said.

Tadic reiterated his country's resolve not to recognise Kosovo.

Kosovo should not be condition for EU integration

The presidents of the Czech Republic and Slovakia have expressed strong support for Serbia's and Croatia's
integration into the EU, stressing that Kosovo should not be a requirement for Serbia's integration.

Regardless of its views on EU policy, the Czech Republic expressed strong support at the meeting on Saturday for Croatia's EU membership and Serbia's future membership, Czech President Vaclav Klaus told a news conference.

When asked by Tanjug about Serbia's chances of getting the EU candidate status on March 1 and whether the Czech Republic was investing effort to persuade hesitant countries to support Serbia, Klaus responded that his country was pushing for it every chance it got. The Czech Republic expresses its support for Serbia clearly, he said, adding that the door of the EU must not be closed, and that every country that wished so should be given the opportunity to take part in EU integration. It is the Czech Republic's clear stand, he asserted.

Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic underscored that Bratislava shared this view also.

The EU should not put Kosovo as a requirement for Serbia's EU integration, he stated. Serbia has to be graded based on its achievements in the implementation of standards, he noted.

Serbian President Boris Tadic thanked the Czech Republic and Slovakia for their strong support, emphasized that everyone should realize that Kosovo should not be set as a requirement for Serbia, especially since Serbia had done everything to enable the functioning of the system in Seoutheastern Europe, including Pristina's regional representation, but in such a way so as not to recognize Kosovo.

Commenting on Serbia's views concerning EU membership, Tadic remarked that it was a political investment containing both benefits and risks. To Serbia, however, it brings benefits more than anything else, he underlined.

Croatian President Ivo Josipovic also commented on whether Kosovo should be a requirement for Serbia's EU integration saying that Kosovo's recognition had not been a requirement for gaining the EU candidate status.

We shall see what the future brings, but Croatia had to fulfil some political requirements on its path to the EU, he stated, adding that he was certain Serbia would do the same.