Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said after a meeting with European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele in Brussels that the recognition of Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence would not be posed as a new condition of Serbia's EU accession.

Jeremic specified he did not hear from Fuele that the recognition of Kosovo's independence could be posed as a new condition of Serbia's EU accession.

At a news conference, the Serbian FM reiterated the country's position to never recognize Kosovo's independence, adding the stance would not change "in the coming days, weeks, months, years or centuries."

At the same time, Jeremic pointed out that "regional cooperation will remain a key priority for the Serbian government."

Asked about the German parliament's position that Serbia had to recognize Kosovo's independence in order to join the EU, Fuele said he respected the view of the parliamentarians in European countries, but that for now he could not discuss possible new conditions for Serbia.

My mandate is very clear in this regard. When we turned over the Questionnaire, we clearly said it did not refer to Kosovo. I believe the priority right now is to solve some practical issues and I can see the talks are headed in the right direction and I expect concrete results in the weeks ahead, Fuele said.

He noted it was important to find a solution for the issue of Kosovo's independence by the time Serbia reached the end of its European path, because no EU member country would support accepting a new member which had open issues in the region or with its neighbors.

Fuele and Jeremic agreed that the entire Western Balkan region had a European perspective and the enlargement process should be mutually credible, that is, that the countries in the Western Balkans should credibly fulfill the criteria, and that EU member countries should respond adequately.

Fuele and Jeremic, who met for the second time this week, after the EU-Western Balkans forum held Monday in Luxembourg, discussed a series of topics important to Serbia's European integration such as reforms, combating organized crime and corruption, regional cooperation and the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

Lot of work ahead for Serbia, says Jeremic

Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said Thursday in Brussels that the European Commission (EC) wanted its October report on Serbia's progress to be positive, but that Serbia still had a lot of work to do.

"We should say honestly there are many things Serbia has not done and it needs to finish these things," Jeremic told reporters.

The Serbian FM stressed the report the EC issues in October will be of key importance for the political decisions which should be made this year, related to Serbia's EU accession and the European integration process of the entire Western Balkans.

He said the talks he had in Brussels focused on specific things Serbia needed to do to get a recommendation in October.

"Today we needed to determine exactly where we are in our joint work with the Commission, ahead of its report in October," Jeremic said.

He added there would be "a lot of work, especially for our institutions" until October.

It is very important for Belgrade and Brussels to keep each other informed about the how far along we are, what the obstacles are, and whether we can be of assistance to each other, Jeremic said.

"In any case, the priority is to get a positive report in October," he said.

Noting that certain political decisions were to be made after October, Jeremic said the process should be approached "rationally and with a clear head."

"There is a clear and specific set of criteria we need to meet, conditions we need to fulfill. We need to concentrate on fulfilling the conditions and try to take emotions, positive or negative, out of the process. And get down to work," Jeremic concluded.

Germany does not request recognition of Kosovo

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic stated Thursday that Germany is not requesting from Serbia to recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo as a condition for EU membership.

On the sidelines of the conference on transparent use of EU pre-accession funds in Serbia, Djelic said that, during the official meeting, the German MPs did not say that recognition of Kosovo is a condition for Serbia's membership in the EU.

Djelic said that official Berlin wants a solution for the issue of Kosovo, adding that Serbia's position not to recognize Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence is familiar.

He said that Serbia knows that the issue must be resolved before Serbia joins the EU, adding that this in no way means the recognition of Kosovo's independence.

According to Belgrade media, the German MPs who visited Belgrade told the journalists in an informal conversation Wednesday that, by the end of its European pathway, Serbia will need to recognize the independence of Kosovo in order to join the EU, and warned that the German parliament will otherwise not support Serbia's EU membership.