British Ambassador in Serbia Michael Davenport stated on Monday, ahead of the visit of Serbian President Boris Tadic to Great Britain, that London wants to see Serbia obtain EU candidate status on December 9, but this will call for urgent continuation of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and implementation of the agreements reached so far.

The European Commission (EC) clearly stated that Serbia has to do more in the area of regional cooperation, especially in setting up positive ties with Kosovo by means of a dialogue with the EU as the mediator, Davenport said in an interview for Tanjug and added that if Serbia wishes to obtain the EU candidate status, it will have to get immediately involved in a
constructive dialogue with Pristina and implement all the points agreed on so far.

When asked whether he can see any progress and what the London's stand would be in December, the ambassador said that Serbia has not yet reached the point and that Britain would adopt the decision together with the 27 member countries on December 9.

He also believes that there is still time for Serbia to meet this criterion as well but that competent bodies need to work on this matter faster.

An agreement on customs stamps has already been reached but agreements on freedom of movement, document recognition, exchange of cadastre books and general registries are yet to be achieved, Davenport said and added that all these areas make people's life easier and contribute to improvement of relations between Serbia and Kosovo. The agreements that have been reached need to be carried out, he noted.

By December, Britain wishes to see Serbia in a position that would be conducive to adopting a positive decision on the candidate status, Davenport stated.

The EC report is very positive and it acknowledges the great progress Serbia has made on its EU path over the past 12 months, especially in cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and arrests of
remaining ICTY indictees Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, he said.

Davenport said that when it comes to administrative crossings Jarinje and Brnjak, Serbia's priority is to return to the dialogue with Pristina and ensure freedom of movement, adding that barricades are of no use to anyone.

Commenting on the fact that Kosovo Serbs voiced their objection to EULEX transporting Albanian customs officers on several occasions so far, Davenport explained that there should be no conditions for freedom of movement.

He noted that Tadic's visit to London, the first one since he was appointed president, comes at a very important moment having in mind the EC positive opinion and the forthcoming decision of the European Council.

President Tadic will discuss a series of topics with British Prime Minister David Cameron, the ambassador announced and added that economic cooperation would be another topic of the talks.

Tadic's visit to London is also important in the context of the long tradition of the two countries' diplomatic relations, because next year will mark the 175th anniversary of the arrival of Britain's first ambassador in Serbia, and it also bears certain relevance with regard to the two countries' alliance in the two World Wars.

When it comes to the future, we see Serbia in the EU, together with us, Davenport stated.