Czech President Vaclav Klaus stated after the talks with Serbian President Boris Tadic on Monday that the European Union (EU) should give the same preconditions to Serbia as those which were given to other EU aspirants.

I believe that Serbia should be given the same preconditions as all other EU aspirants, and that it should not be faced with additional requirements which others did not have, Klaus said.

The Czech president underlined at a joint press conference in the Lany Chateau near Prague, where he welcomed the Serbian president with highest state honors, that he has full understanding for Serbia's EU ambitions.

We will offer full support to Serbia on its EU pathway, Klaus said.

President Tadic said that Serbia wants to become an EU member, and that it is clear that this cannot happen tomorrow, but rather when the reform process is over.

“We are realistic, and we are aware of the internal problems of the EU,” Tadic noted.

He said that Serbia's EU accession is of great importance not only for the country but also for the EU since, as he put it, Serbia's EU integration will be a stability factor for all Western Balkan countries, including the EU countries.

Tadic recalled to the great friendship between the Serbia and the Czech people and expressed expectation that in future it will be enriched with even better cooperation in the fields of policy, economy, culture and science.

Today's encounter is a part of a series of regular meetings between the two presidents.

To honour the Serbian president, the hosts presented photographs of former Serbian king Aleksandar I Karadjordjevic and Czech president Tomas Masaryk, as well as the agreement known as the Little Entente, which was signed by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and Czechoslovakia back in 1920.

The two officials exchanged gifts and Tadic and his wife wrote their comments in the guest book, praising the friendship between the two nations and the memory of Tomas Masaryk.