Belgrade, 09. 05. 2008.

SERBIA - EU

• SCHIEDER: EUROPE IS A CONCEPT OF THE FUTURE, NOT OF THE PAST
• BARROT: VISA NEGOTIATIONS PACE DEPENDS ON SERBIA'S READINESS
• SLOVENIA WELCOMES SIGNING OF SAA

• CONGRATULATIONS TO PUTIN AND MEDVEDEV
• TADIC RECEIVES DECORATION FROM RUSSIA
• KOSACHEV, KOSTUNICA FOR ADOPTING OF ENERGY AGREEMENT
• JEREMIC CONFERS WITH KOSACHEV
• KOSACHEV GIVES SUPPORT TO ENERGY AGREEMENT
• RUSSIA SUPPORTS SERBIA'S INTEGRATION IN EU - SERBIAN FM
• RUSSIAN OFFICIAL SAYS HE DOES NOT INTERFERE IN DEBATE ON SAA

• ELECTIONS IN SERBIA ON MAY 11
• EU: MAY 11 VOTE TO DECIDE FOR OR AGAINST EUROPE
• NEW COMPOSITION OF SERBIAN PARLIAMENT BY MID-JUNE
• TADIC LAYS WREATH AT UNKNOWN SOLDIER MONUMENT
• EUROPEAN COMMISSION VICE PRESIDENT VISITS VOJVODINA
• LAMY: SERBIA IN WTO IN 2009 A REALISTIC ESTIMATE
• EU: MORE INVESTMENTS IN SERBIA
• STRENGTHENING OF MILITARY-EDUCATIONAL, MILITARY-MEDICAL COOP
• CHIEF OF STAFF DISCUSSES SECURITY WITH KFOR COMMANDER

• RUECKER: LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS WILL BE INVALID
• PRISTINA NOT TO REACT TO ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO
• KOSACHEV: POSITION ON KOSOVO STRATEGIC CHOICE FOR RUSSIA
• JAKOVENKO: SECESSION INCREASED CONFLICT POTENTIAL
• GEORGIA WILL NOT RECOGNIZE KOSOVO – PRESIDENT
• EU, US REQUEST EULEX-UNMIK COEXISTENCE

VIENNA, May 8 (Tanjug) - Andreas Schieder, chair of the Austrian Parliament Foreign Relations Committee and speaker of the Social-Democratic Party of Austria (SPA), has urged for a speedy status of a candidate state of the European Union for Serbia, pointing out that the pace towards that direction depends on the results of the May 11 parliamentary elections in Serbia.

"It is not up to Austria or the SPA to give its recommendations for the elections in Serbia. Serbia's voters are those who decide what is best for Serbia. The SPA and Austria are friends of Serbia and it is important to us that the country has a good future, which will be within Europe, and that its population gets a government that would provide the best answers to the problems of their everyday life," Schieder said in an interview with Tanjug. Schieder underscored that a solution should be found for the visa regime as soon as possible, because Serbia is part of Europe. "It is not a question of providing freedom of travel for all, but of terminating the isolation. I do not believe that the Serbs would head for Europe in huge numbers, as it is feared by some. Serbs and Serbia are part of Europe's history, both cultural and scientific, and we are only losing that source with artificial borders," said Schieder.

When asked what he thinks about the recently signed Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), Schieder said that he had been urging for the signing of the document with Serbia for some time now. "I believe that there are no problems in Austria to ratify the document. I believe that one should be fair and not demand some conditions that had not been required by other countries. I believe that the same rules that applied to Croatia should apply to Serbia," underscored Schieder.

BELGRADE, May 8 (Tanjug) - European Commission (EC) Vice President Jacques Barrot has said that the pace of the negotiations on the abolishing of visas for Serbian citizens depends exclusively on Serbia's readiness to fulfill the set conditions, and that he cannot predict whether the dialogue on the abolishing of visas will be completed by the end of this year, as certain Serbian politicians have announced.

Speaking in an interview for Belgrade-based TV B92, Barrot said that the set conditions include the introduction of a new passport, control of borders, cooperation with European security services, the fight against terrorism and organized crime. There is evident progress, he said, and, should such a trend continue, it can be expected that the process will proceed very swiftly and that it will be possible to realize the liberalization of the visa regime relatively quickly.

BELGRADE, May 9 (Tanjug) - The Republic of Slovenia, which chairs the European Union (EU), expressed sincere satisfaction on the occasion of May 9, Europe Day, that Serbia has signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SA) with the EU, pointing out that this is the first concrete step along its European pathway which opens possibilities for the next step, which is the acquiring of the status of a candidate -country for EU membership, the Slovenian Embassy in Belgrade announced on Thursday.

"The European Union is one of the biggest markets in the world, and access to that market, which is provided by the Stabilization and Association Agreement, will open new possibilities for the Serbian economy, new jobs for all Serbian citizens, and it will raise their living standard," the statement said.

BELGRADE, May 08 (Beta) - On May 8, the president and prime minister of Serbia, Boris Tadic and Vojislav Kostunica, congratulated Vladimir Putin on his appointment to the office of prime minister of Russia.

Tadic thanked Putin for the excellent cooperation they established while he was the president of Russia, stating that his appointment as prime minister was "a solid guarantee that Russia will continue its successful development on the internal and international planes."

Kostunica said Putin's appointment as prime minister is "the best guarantee of the strong and comprehensive development of Russia."

He added that "the entire Serbian nation is most sincerely thankful to Russia" and Putin because of his principled advocacy of the consistent honoring of principles of international law, according to which Kosovo and Metohija "can only be a part of Serbia."

The president of the Socialist Party of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, also sent a message of congratulations to Dimitrij Medvedev for his election as president of Russia.

BELGRADE, May 08 (Beta) - The Russian Federation awarded Serbian President Boris Tadic a decoration on the occasion of May 9, Victory Day.

Tadic received the decoration from the Russian president's State and Church Affairs adviser Boris Kukichev, BETA learned from the president's cabinet on May 8.

The Russian Federation established the decoration for Victory Day on the 50th anniversary of the victory over fascism.

BELGRADE, May 8 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and Russian Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Head Konstantin Kosachev agreed in Belgrade on Thursday that it is of extreme importance that the Serbian government should confirm, at tomorrow's session, the energy agreement between Serbia and Russia, and that the Serbian parliament should subsequently ratify it.

Kostunica pointed out that Serbia's energy agreement with Russia, which was signed in Moscow on January 25, is of strategic importance for Serbia and is important for the further economic and commercial growth of the country, the Serbian Government Office for Media Relations said.

At the meeting, the Serbian prime minister expressed gratitude to the Russian Federation for its stand in principle that the principles of international law and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states must be respected.

BELGRADE, May 8 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic conferred in Belgrade on Thursday with Russian Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Head and United Russia senior official Konstantin Kosachev on the resolving of the status of Kosovo and the promotion of the relations between the two countries, primarily the economic cooperation.

The stand in principle of the Russian Federation that United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1244, which guarantees the preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia within its internationally recognized borders must be respected was once again confirmed in these talks, the Serbian Foreign Ministry said.

The Russian official conveyed to Minister Jeremic that he reiterated in all his talks with Serbian officials so far that official Moscow is not opposed to Serbia's integration processes with Europe.

Jeremic underscored that the two important segments of Serbia's foreign policy - the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country and the continuation of the excellent bilateral relations with the Russian Federation - will not be changed even after the new Serbian government is formed.

Jeremic underscored the importance of the economic cooperation with Russia and said he expects that the proposed document on the ratification of the energy agreement with Russia will be adopted at tomorrow's session of the Serbian government, because there is consensus in the government on this issue, the Ministry statement said.

BELGRADE, May 8 (Tanjug) - Russian Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Head Konstantin Kosachev said in Belgrade on Thursday that he advocated support to the energy agreement between Serbia and Russia at his meetings with Serbian officials and the leaders of the most influential parties.

He is satisfied that he was assured, during all these meetings, that the relations with Russia are a priority for all the parties with whose leaders he had the opportunity to meet, Kosachev said in a statement for Tanjug and Serbian Radio Television RTS. At these meetings, he unequivocally advocated support to the energy agreement between Serbia and Russia, Kosachev said, a document that has been signed, but has not been ratified yet.

The agreement is the strategic choice for both Russia and for Serbia, and it largely in keeping with the national interests of the two countries, he said. Kosachev said that he hopes, in the time that is left until the elections, that the Serbian government will have the opportunity to advocate support to the energy agreement. He expressed the wish that Serbia, which is presently for Russia one of the closest and most friendly countries of modern Europe, should overcome its fundamental problem - the problem of Kosovo.

Russia advocates the restoration of the territorial integrity of Serbia in keeping with the norms of international law and the decision of the United Nations Security Council, Kosachev said. Russia is doing everything in its power to secure that the illegitimate and unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo does not get wide recognition, Kosachev said. Kosachev underscored that he has come to Belgrade as a representative of United Russia and at the invitation of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), because these two parties maintain partner relations.

BELGRADE, May 8 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said Thursday that Russia strongly supports Serbia's accelerated integration in the EU the same way the Serbian government has been advocating so far, with dignity and based on full respect of national interests.

Serbia has never been and will never be on its knees. It proudly signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement paving the way for integration in the EU if the voters so decide on May 11, Jeremic told Tanjug.

BELGRADE, May 8 (Tanjug) - Head of the Russian State Duma Foreign Policy Committee Konstantin Kosachev said on Thursday that he did not want to interfere in a debate in Serbia on the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) and that he did not support any of the sides in the debate, because this was Serbia's internal issue.

In a statement to Tanjug Kosachev said that he knew that the SAA had caused different comments and emotions in Serbia and that he did not believe he should engage in this discussion and support any of the sides. He said that any form of cooperation between Serbia and the European Union was acceptable for Russia, from the point of view of its interests and interests of Russian-Serbian cooperation and that Russia would support the form which Serbia chose itself.

He also said that the form and pace of Serbia's relations with the European Union should be determined by Serbia itself, without any external pressure, either from the EU or from Russia. The issue of Serbia's relations with the European Union is the issue of internal discussion in Serbia, he said. Kosachev earlier on Thursday met with Serbian President Boris Tadic, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic.

BELGRADE, May 08 (Beta) - On May 11, the citizens of Serbia will elect 250 deputies of the Serbian Parliament, 120 deputies of the Assembly of Vojvodina, and deputies in 24 city and 150 municipal assemblies.

There are 22 tickets taking part in the parliamentary elections, of which 10 are those of minority communities, with a total of 3,137 candidates for 250 seats. These are the eighth parliamentary elections in Serbia since the introduction of the multiparty system. Parties and coalitions which win more than five percent of votes of the total turnout will have representatives in the Serbian Parliament.

The parliamentary and local elections will be held in 26 municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija. There are 108 election tickets taking part in the local elections in the province, while displaced persons from Kosovo will vote in central Serbia, at special ballot stations.

The electoral silence is in effect in Serbia, which lasts until the closing of the ballot stations at 8:00 p.m. on May 11. During this period, all political advertising via the public information media and announcements of electoral result prognoses are prohibited.

Somewhat more than 6.7 million people have the right to vote in the elections on May 11, who will be able to do so at 8,682 ballot stations.

According to a decision of the Republican Electoral Commission, 75 ballot stations will be opened in 40 countries for the Serbian parliamentary local and provincial elections abroad where more than 51,000 Serb people have the right to vote.

The final election results must be announced by May 15 at midnight, when the deadline begins for the constituting of the Serbian Parliament, provincial and local assemblies.

The Serbian Parliament is constituted after the confirmation of at least two thirds of deputy mandates, by midJune. The house then has up to three months to appoint the Republic's new government.

Ljubljana, May 08 (Beta) - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Hans Gert Poettering said in Ljubljana on May 8 that on May 11 Serbs will get to vote for or against Europe.

Together with Slovenian Prime Minister and EU chair Janez Jansa, the two took part in a public debate on a framework for future EU enlargement.

Barroso and Poettering said that Serbs have gone through difficult times, adding that they now have to decide by themselves whether or not they want to live in Europe.

Commenting on demands for the extradition of war crimes indictees Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, Jansa said that this is a basic issue for regional peace and security.

Poettering said the same of the struggle between proEuropean and nationalist forces in Serbia, adding that the EU will encourage the spread of peaceful sentiments.

BELGRADE, May 9 (Tanjug) - Serbia should get a new composition of its parliament by mid-June, after citizens vote for the parties and coalitions of their choice on election day, Sunday, May 11. The election campaign, which lasted 56 days, ended at midnight Thursday, when the ban on political advertising was proclaimed, to be effective until polling stations close at 2000 hours Sunday.

Votes in these parliamentary elections will be given to 3,137 candidates from 22 election lists, including ten of parties of national minorities. The Republic Election Commission should determine the results of the voting for parliament by 2000 hours on May 15, and it should issue the necessary documents to the new MPs by the end of May. Under the Serbian Constitution, the first session of parliament is called by its president of the previous composition, who is in this case Oliver Dulic.

This should be done no later than 30 days following the proclamation of the final election results. At the first session of parliament, the mandates of the new MPs are confirmed, and the National Assembly will be constituted with the confirmation of at least two-thirds of the mandates. With the constituting of the new parliament, the mandate of the previous one will be terminated. The first job after parliament is constituted will be to set up the new government. Under the Constitution, parliament is dissolved if it fails to set up the government within 90 days, or by mid-September at the latest. The president of the Republic of Serbia proposes the prime minister designate to parliament, and the appointment of the nominated candidate requires the majority vote of the total number of deputies, or votes from at least 126 MPs.

BELGRADE, May 9 (Tanjug) - On the occasion of 9th May, the day of victory over fascism, Serbian President Boris Tadic on Friday laid a wreath at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier on Mt. Avala.

"The victory over fascism is the biggest achievement of the human civilization, because it was also a victory over evil within the self! Glory to the anti-fascist movement in Serbia! Let us continue along the same path," President Tadic's press office quoted him as writing down in the memorial book.

NOVI SAD, May 08 (Beta) - Jacques Barrot, one of the vice presidents of the European Commission, said on May 8 that Europe cannot be imagined without Serbia and Vojvodina.

Speaking on Novi Sad's Most Slobode Bridge, which was rebuilt with EUR65 million in EU funding, Barrot remarked that he is happy to be in the heart of Europe and to have had the opportunity to present President Boris Tadic with the EU's roadmap for visafree travel for Serbian citizens the day before.

He also congratulated Vojvodina administrator Bojan Pajtic on the pace at which Vojvodina is developing.

Pajtic pointed out the symbolism of Barrot's visit taking place on the 160th anniversary of the creation of Vojvodina. "His arrival confirms that Vojvodina is a European region," Pajtic declared.

GENEVA, May 08 (Beta) - Serbia may join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2009 if it continues to put in the effort that it has till now, WTO general director Pascal Lamy and Serbian Minister for the Economy Mladjan Dinkic assessed in Geneva on May 8.

The process of joining the organization is going well and one can expect it to be completed in 2009 if the Serbian authorities continue to put in the effort they have till now, in order to complete the remaining part of the job, Lamy said in a statement, which the Serbian Ministry of the Economy conveyed to BETA.

Lamy said that, at the meeting with the delegation of Serbia, the next steps that need to be taken were set, and added that the presence of Minister Dinkic in Geneva was an indicator of the significance Serbia attaches to membership in the WTO, and that members of this international organization appreciated this.

Dinkic is paying a visit to Geneva, where the fifth meeting of the working group for Serbia's joining the WTO is being held. A member of the delegation of Serbia is also the state secretary of the Ministry for the Economy and Regional Development, Jasna Matic.

In a telephone statement to BETA, Minister Mladjan Dinkic said that Serbia should amend approximately 70 percent of its regulations and laws before joining the WTO.

"I promised Mr. Lamy that the new government will be capable of doing this by February next year at the latest," Dinkic pointed out.

He stressed that membership in the WTO is a precondition for admission into the EU and that Serbia, after it joins the WTO in mid2009, will invest every effort in becoming a full EU member state by the end of 2012.

BELGRADE, May 08 (Beta) - The European Union has prepared a mechanism of incentives and alleviations for investments by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and other international financial institutions into Serbia and other Western Balkan countries, which, among other things, will have a EUR1 billion fund for securing low interest rates and forms of support for priority projects in the region.

A decision about this will be adopted by the ministers of finance and economy of the EU member countries, and the president of the EIB, Philip Maystadt, will announce the measures this key EU financial institution has prepared for supporting the coordinated and strengthened support to investments into the Western Balkans, a high official of the EU Presidency announced.

The unified financial mechanism for the Western Balkans is aimed at encouraging the Western Balkan countries' progress in transition and in the integration of their economies, as well as at strengthening the further macroeconomic growth and stability of the region, primarily based on private and public investments.

Based on the conclusions of the EU heads of state and government, the European Commission has created a document concerning the expansion and strengthening of cooperation of Western Balkan countries with the EIB and other international financial institutions.

BELGRADE, May 8 (Tanjug) - Officials of the defense ministries of Serbia and Russia have signed a plan of bilateral military cooperation for the year 2008 which envisages, among other things, the strengthening of military-educational cooperation, the Serbian Defense Ministry has said.

The document was signed by Serbian Defense Ministry Administration for International Military Cooperation Chief Milorad Peric and Russian Military Envoy in Belgrade Colonel Viktor Avdeev, who expressed satisfaction at the constantly upward trend in the bilateral military cooperation between the two states. Colonel Avdeev said he expects such a trend will continue in the coming period as well, said the statement posted on the website of the Serbian Defense Ministry.

NIS, May 08 (Beta) - Serbian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Zdravko Ponos and KFOR Commander Gen. Xavier Bout de Marnhac met in Nis on May 8 to discuss the security situation along the administrative border separating Kosovo from the rest of Serbia and the areas controlled by the Serbian military and KFOR.

They emphasized the importance of cooperation and maintaining an open and professional relationship between the Serbian Armed Forces and KFOR at all levels. The significance of exchanging information, joint activities, and simultaneous patrols along the boundary was also underscored, according to the Defense Ministry website (www.mod.gov.yu).

WASHINGTON, May 8 (Tanjug) - Head of the U.N. mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Joachim Ruecker reiterated the stand that the local Serb elections in Kosovo are illegal, that there may not be a parallel administration in the province and that UNMIK will respond "under the Kosovo laws" if someone attempts to form parallel organs of the authority. It is agreed by all that it is contrary to Resolution 1244 to have Serbia hold its local elections in Kosovo, underscored Ruecker in an interview with the Voice of America in the Albanian language on Thursday.

"When it comes to the parliamentary elections, we shall maintain the stand we also had in 1999. We shall neither support it nor obstruct it. As far as the local elections are concerned, it is questionable whether Serbia will attempt to hold local elections under the laws which are impossible to be implemented in Kosovo. Local elections will be contrary to Resolution 1244, they have not been registered by UNMIK and their results will be invalid if the elections are held at all," said Ruecker.

BELGRADE, May 08 (Beta) - Officials in Belgrade have said that preparations for Kosovo Serb voting in the May 9 local elections are over. Pristina has said it will not prevent Serbs from voting, although it considers that unacceptable.

Assistant Minister for Kosovo Ljubomir Kljajic told BETA that the necessary preparations have been made and that he hopes balloting will transpire as in any other place in Serbia.

In addition, Kljajic expects the elections to produce legitimate Kosovo Serb representatives.

Dukadin Gorani, political adviser to the Kosovo premier, said that although Pristina does not consider allowing the Kosovo Serb community to vote in the Serbian elections politically acceptable, it will not interfere.

He added that the voting will probably be tolerated despite the fact that Pristina and the international community feel it is unacceptable, invalid, and foreign. "There won't be any drama and whoever believes they should vote will do so," Gorani said.

Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Slobodan Samardzic said on May 7 that no plans exist to set up a Serb Kosovo Assembly after the elections despite a statement to that effect from Kosovo Serb leader Marko Jaksic.

MOSCOW, May 9 (Tanjug) - United Russia senior official Konstantin Kosachev said on Thursday evening that he had confirmed, during his visit to Belgrade that day, that the issue of Kosovo and Metohija is not a political issue for Russia, but one of the strategic choice in favor of international law.

For Russia, that is a situation where no bartering is possible and which remains unchanged with every composition of the Duma and the Russian Federation government - it is a subject of general party consensus, Kosachev said, speaking to Russian reporters in Belgrade, as carried by the Russian news agency Itar-Tass. No-one in Russia doubts the correctness of such a position on Kosovo, said the deputy secretary of governing United Russia's Presidium of the General Council, of which Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is the president as of yesterday.

MOSCOW, May 8 (Tanjug) - The unilateral proclamation of Kosovo-Metohija independence has increased the conflict potential and closed the door to inter-ethnic reconciliation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Jakovenko said on Thursday.

There is a high degree of tension in the province, Jakovenko said in an interview for the Moscow daily Rossiyskaya Gazetta, pointing out that it was becoming more and more obvious that the unilateral proclamation of independence had not reduced, but had rather increased the conflict potential and closed the door to inter-ethnic reconciliation. According to him, because of its illegitimacy, the self-willed deployment of the European mission (EULEX) was not capable of realizing the envisaged functions in the civil sphere.

MOSCOW/TBILISI, May 8 (Tanjug) - Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili said Thursday that Georgia has no intention to recognize the unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence, Itar Tass reports.

"We are stating loudly and clearly that we have never planned to recognize Kosovo. Nor do we plan to do so in the future," he told Russian media in Batumi. "The way out of the situation that has been chosen is not the best one. The Serbs should have been given more time for negotiations. The solution for Kosovo was a hasty one," he said.

BRUSSELS, May 9 (Tanjug) - Faced with Russia's disagreement with a withdrawal of the U.N. mission from Kosovo, the European Union and United States of America are imposing pressure on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon to approve a solution that would enable parallel existence of UNMIK and ELEX before June 15, which is when the Kosovo constitution, approved by Washington and Brussels will go into effect, the Brussels weekly European Voice wrote on Friday.

According to the weekly, one of the scenarios is a reconfiguration of UNMIK mission, which would remain in the Serb-populated regions in Kosovo, while the European Union's mission would be in charge of the Albanian-populated regions of Kosovo, which regards itself independent of Serbia. We are in a rather awkward situation, said one of the Western diplomats in a statement published by the weekly.