Serbian President Boris Tadic said Monday that 2011 must be a year of realization of development goals on which the welfare of citizens and the state will depend in the next decade.

Serbia must this year get the status of candidate for European Union membership, complete its cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the reform of the judiciary sector, pass a law on restitution, continue fighting organized crime and corruption and complete some capital infrastructure projects, Tadic said in an interview to Tanjug.

Tadic compared Serbia to an unfinished house.

The difficulties felt today by all citizens are a consequence of much that should have been done in the past decades and of insufficient determination to start some hard and risky processes, he said.

Tadic said he is ready to analyse the situation in Serbia with political partners, intellectuals, experts, professors and NGO representatives.

Serbia has inherited traditional weaknesses in the economy and administration, as well as the habit of missing opportunities, Tadic said.

Serbia never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity, it is a country that has missed many opportunities in the past years and decades, and no longer has the right to miss any more opportunities, he explained.

Many challenges lie in store for Serbia, which, despite all circumstances, must approach EU integration and reforms with determination, without giving in to views that there is no chance and that everything is worthless, he said.