Sanino: Dialogue with Pristina - step in right direction
04. April 2011. | 06:31
Source: Tanjug
Stefano Sannino expressed belief that now is the right time for the reshuffled government to focus on implementation of reforms, adding that the state and citizens will work together with the EU on the tasks that precede the EU membership.
Deputy Director-General of the European Union's Directorate General for Enlargement Stefano Sannino has stated that the establishment of full cooperation between Belgrade and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) should not be problematic given that there is no lack of political will, and added that the dialogue which Serbia has been opened with Pristina is a step forward in the right direction i.e. towards the EU membership.
He expressed belief in an interview for the Belgrade-based daily Politika that now is the right time for the reshuffled government to focus on implementation of reforms, adding that the state and citizens will work together with the EU on the tasks that precede the EU membership.
The opinion and recommendation of the European Commission (EC) regarding Serbia's EU candidacy will be made based on a number of elements, Sannino said, adding that EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele has precisely identified all those elements.
Sannino specified that those are: the rule of law, justice system reform, fight against organized crime and corruption, financing of political parties, blank resignations, assessment of regional cooperation and cooperation with the ICTY.
When asked how he sees the relation between Serbia's NATO accession and the EU membership, he said that NATO is certainly not a prerequisite for the EU membership since it is a sovereign right of each state to decide which organizations it will join.
I cannot speak on the behalf of NATO, but I may say that certain EU states are not members of NATO, as well as certain NATO members are not part of the EU, Sannino said.
He underlined that the justice reforms are on the right track.
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