Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Guido Westerwelle said Thursday in Belgrade that Germany wants Serbia to be granted candidate status at the next meeting of the European Council, because Germany stands firmly behind Serbia's European perspective.

The goal is possible to achieve if we remain flexible, rational and committed, Westerwelle told reporters after meeting with Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic.

Westerwelle stressed that Serbia has moved far on its European path and that it has made great progress since December.

The German minister said that Belgrade should be awarded a special honor for the agreement on freedom of movement achieved in the dialogue with Pristina and expressed the expectation that the other outstanding issues will also be resolved.

The agreement on free movement is a major step that has to be given credit for, and if the other outstanding issues are approached in a spirit of collaboration, solutions are very close, Westerwelle said.

I think that it will happen. Germany is very determined to that end, he said.

Westerwelle said he came to Belgrade for two reasons - to acknowledge and encourage.

My visit is a sign of recognition for everything that you have done and also a gesture of encouragement for the last steps that remain to be taken, he said.

Jeremic said that Serbia has done everything within its power to meet the requests and recommendations set out by Brussels in December.

He said that Germany and Serbia have a mutual goal, which includes the building of a European society and European processes for Serbia and the Western Balkans.

I believe that at this point we are in a position to say that the fulfillment of the goal is within reach, Jeremic noted.

We can hope for a positive outcome, he said, but added that it is unacceptable that Serbia be attached any new conditions apart from the ones already presented in December.

I believe there is still a high level of understanding about that in most of the EU, he said, and added that there is a lot of work to be done in the next few days, but that success is possible.

Pointing out that Westerwelle's visit was a surprise in a way, Jeremic noted that Serbia and Germany did not understand each other well in the past, but added that he can now say that the two countries have far more understanding for the present situation and the path that should be followed in the next days.

Jeremic stated that the European process is the Serbian government's priority, and that the European future of the Western Balkans is very important for both Serbia and Europe.

He also said that he does not want to speculate about the decision on the candidate status, since it is still unknown whether Serbia will acquire the status.

We should try to maintain the positive momentum we have had, Jeremic underlined.