Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Bozidar Djelic will be in Strasbourg from 17 to 19 January where he will address the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and hold bilateral meetings with EU and Council of Europe representatives.

On 18 January Djelic will meet with Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland, President of the European Court for Human Rights Jean-Paul Costa, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Tomas Hammarberg and European Court for Human Rights judge Dragoljub Popovic.

Djelic will also meet with Friends of Serbia, an informal group of MPs in the European Parliament, to discuss Serbia’s EU path and prospective candidate status.

On 19 January a debate will be held at the European Parliament, as well as voting on the adoption of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and the resolution on Serbia’s EU integration by European Parliament rapporteur Jelko Kacin.

The Deputy Prime Minister will attend all of the announced debates and voting.

Serbia’s goal to start EU entry talks in 2012

Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and Minister of Science and Technological Development Bozidar Djelic stated yesterday  that as soon as all EU countries and the European Parliament ratify the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), Serbia will become an EU associate member.

Appearing in the Kaziprst show on RTV B92, Djelic explained that this will mean that Serbia is a country with a strong European perspective, with a broad range of legally ratified and verified relations with the EU.

Through the resolution on Serbia’s EU perspective, proposed by European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia Jelko Kacin, Serbia should garner support for the next step, and that is the acquisition of candidate status before the year’s end, Djelic noted.

It is Serbia’s ambition to be given the date for the beginning of talks on EU entry for spring 2012, he added.

Djelic recalled that 11 EU members have already ratified the SAA with Serbia, voicing his expectations that 16 more countries will follow suit. He added that it has been announced that Germany will do so on 20 January.

Serbia did well when it comes to answering the European Commission questionnaire on Serbia’s EU membership, he stated.

Djelic announced that on 21 January the replies to the questionnaire will be forwarded to the Serbian Parliament and the following week they will be contemplated by the Serbian EU Integration Council.

The Deputy Prime Minister voiced his belief that they will be adopted next week so that together with Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic he can deliver them to EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule on 31 January in Brussels.