European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fuele said Friday that the positive assessment of reforms in Serbia confirms that the current year was good for the country.

Progress on outstanding issues in dialogue with Pristina is the only pre-condition for negotiations on membership in the EU, he said.

The reform process implemented by Serbia, cooperation with ICTY and start of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, all this proves how good a year this was for Serbia, Fuele said after a meeting with Serbian President Boris Tadic.

Fuele recalled that in its progress report, the European Commission positively assessed the reforms in Serbia, recommended without pre-conditions that Serbia be granted candidate status and concluded that constructive interaction exists between the EU and Serbia.

The EC has identified only one priority that stands between Serbia and the opening of membership negotiations. This issue is related to further progress on Kosovo, Fuele said.

He pointed out that the Commission in its report said that there are no new conditions for Serbia.

As regards timing - the EC sent a clear message: Serbia does not need to wait for a new EC report, if progress is made on Kosovo, Fuele said.

If progress is made on Kosovo, the Commission will immediately send a recommendation to EU member-states to open negotiations on membership, he said.

The commissioner said that the dialogue should be continued and that at the moment intensive efforts are underway for that goal.

A constructive atmosphere is needed in order to achieve progress on the remaining unsolved issues, he said.

Serbia should seize the moment created by the EC since it positively assessed its efforts and since the country made a lot of progress in the process of reforms, Fuele said.

Serbia should continue with the reforms and apply the laws and thus increase the trust of the EU when it comes to taking a decision later this year, he concluded.