Belgrade, 10. 01. 2008.

C O N T E N T :

SERBIA-EU

• TADIC: WE WILL NOT GIVE UP ON EITHER KOSOVO OR EU
• SAMARDZIC: EU'S DECISION ON MISSION VIOLATION OF INITIALED SAA
• JEREMIC: KOSOVO AND EU - SERBIA'S TWO PRIORITIES
• JEREMIC: EU VISA REGIME TO BE FULLY LIBERALIZED SOON
• REHN: EU INTEGRATION AND KOSOVO STATUS-TWO SEPARATE PROCESSES
• NAGY: EC UPSET BY INCORRECT PRESENTATION OF SAA IN SERBIA
• VERHAGEN: SERBIA MUST EXTRADITE FUGITIVE BEFORE SIGNING SAA

• KHARCHENKO: UN RESOLUTION ON KOSOVO TO BE BASED ON COMPROMISE
• TIRK: NO EXPERIMENTING POSSIBLE IN CASE OF KOSOVO
• ERLER: GERMANY VOICES CONCERN OVER EU'S HESITATING ABOUT KOSOVO
• TACI: KOSOVO WILL PROCLAIM INDEPENDENCE IN NEXT FEW WEEKS

• TADIC: SERBIA AND RS TOGETHER TOWARDS PROSPERITY AND EUROPE
• KOSTUNICA FELICITATES RS DAY
• SERBIA AND SRPSKA SIGN PROTOCOL ON PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION
• KUZMANOVIC: THE BEST GIFT TO SRPSKA

• DJELIC: SERBIA MARKS FASTEST ECONOMIC GROWTH IN EUROPE
• SUTANOVAC: NO WILL IN SERBIAN ASSEMBLY TO ADVANCE TOWARD NATO
• STEFANOVIC: SERBIA TO RATIONALIZE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE

BANJA LUKA, Jan 9 (Beta) - Serbian President Boris Tadic has said that today Serbia is not in a position to act as a state in Kosovo, but it will never give up either Kosovo or membership in the EU. "The EU will never blackmail Serbia, when it comes to EU membership, with the loss of a portion of its territory," Tadic pointed out at a Jan. 9 news conference in the RS capital, Banjaluka. Asked what he thought of the announcements by certain EU members that they would recognize Kosovo's independence, while at the same time advocating Serbia's signature of SAA with the EU, Tadic said that certain EU members had an interest in Kosovo gaining independence, just as there were EU countries that would not back that independence. The president also said that the U.S. believed Kosovo should be independent, describing this as a consequence of the policy pursued in Serbia during the 1990s. "My idea is to conduct a policy of making friends, which reduces the risks facing Serbia and increases the chances for all of its citizens and the country as a whole,".

BELGRADE, Jan 10 (Tanjug) - A possible decision of the European Union to send a mission to Kosovo and Metohija would represent a direct violation of the basic provisions of the already initialed SAA on Serbia's joining this European organisation, Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Slobodan Samardzic said on Thursday. "It is clear that the EU has now to decide whether it wants this Agreement with Serbia, or whether it wants to illegally send a mission for creating an artificial creation that would be called independent Kosovo," Samardzic specified for Tanjug. He assessed that, from the legal point of view, the EU could not sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia and reach a decision on sending its mission for implementing the rejected (Martti) Ahtisaari plan on Serbia's disintegration. "All the founding documents the EU rests upon oblige it to strictly observe international law and to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries it may sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with, Samatrdzic reminded. He pointed to the fact that the EU was obliged to observe this obligation in the case of Serbia as well, unless the Union itself wanted to annul the initialed Agreement so as to be able to illegally send its mission to Kosovo and Metohioja. "Serbia will observe every word of the initialed Agreement, but the EU will also have to respect this Agreement to that very same extent, which means that the EU will have to give up on sending its mission to the province," Samardzic concluded.

BRUSSELS, Jan 9 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said in Brussles on Wednesday, after meeting with Olli Rehn, that Kosovo and Serbia's EU association, are two equally important priority processes. "As much as we remain firm in the defence of Serbia's territorial sovereignty, in the same measure we remain oriented towards the country's future," Jeremic stated. Jeremic set out that Serbia continues to urge a compromise for the resolution of the status of Kosovo, as well as a legal framework for sending a EU mission in the police and judiciary spheres. Jeremic said he remains an optimist with regards possibilities that SAA will be signed on Jan 28 at the next meeting of the EU foreign ministers.

BRUSSELS, Jan 9 (Beta) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said that the Serbian government and the EC would soon start working together toward the full liberalization of the visa regime and the annulment of EU visas for Serbian citizens. Jeremic said this after a meeting with EC for Justice, Freedom and Security Frattini, and reiterated that as of Jan. 1, 2008, Serbia had a special regime of visa benefits for Serbian citizens traveling to "the EU member states within the Schengen." "I think that we can hope for the beginning of talks on the full liberalization of the visa regime for Serbian citizens very soon,".

BRUSSELS, Jan 10 (Tanjug) - EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has assessed as " disappointing that SAA is misrepresented in the Serbian political debate.""The process of European integration and the process of Kosovo's status are two separate processes. The SAA does not affect Serbia's territorial integrity since Kosovo's status will be decided in another context," Rehn said in an interview with Reuters. "It is sad that Serbia's European future is being offered up on the altar of domestic power games," Rehn said without explicitly mentioning Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica or his statement that Brussels will have to choose between Serbia's EU integration and its support to Kosovo's independence.Rehn said it is still possible for Belgrade to sign the agreement with the EU later this month that would be the first step in the road to eventual membership, if Serbia moves fast to cooperate more fully with the ICTY.

BRUSSELS, Jan 9 (Tanjug) - The European Commission is upset by the incorrect presentation of SAA in debates currently underway in Serbia, said on Wednesday. Rehn conferred with Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and conveyed to him, Nagy told reporters, that he was urging the "earliest possible signing" of the SAA, but that it depended on the meeting of conditions such as full cooperation with the war crimes tribunal. Responding to the question relating to debates in Serbia, with respect to the signing of SAA and the sending of EU police and judiciary mission to Kosovo and Metohija, Nagy said that the EU was upset by the incorrect presentation of SAA in the debate. SAA is a document whose content was the subject of negotiations of the European Commission and Serbia as equal partners and it does not prejudge the status of Kosovo. That fact is not taken into account in the current debate, Nagy said, and added that SAA was not something that is imposed, but a privilege that brings concrete advantages.

LONDON, Jan 9 (Tanjug) - Dutch Foreign Minister Maxim Verhagen said that the Netherlands opposes the signing of the SAA between Serbia and the EU before former Bosnian Serb war commander Ratko Mladic is extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal. The stand of the Dutch government regarding Belgrade's cooperation with ICTY has always been very firm and often different from that of other EU member-states, the BBC said.

MOSCOW, Jan 10 (Tanjug) - Russia will not agree with a UN Security Council decision on Kosovo unless the decision is based on a compromise, said in Moscow on Thursday Russian special envoy for the Balkans Alexander Botsan Kharchenko. Botsan Kharchenko was reacting to a statement by Britain's Minister for Europe Jim Murphy who, as it is said, called on Moscow not to veto the independence of Kosovo, Itar-Tass reported. The Russian diplomat held that Murphy's statement was "strange." "How can you prevent Moscow? It is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and has the right of veto. We made a principled statement that we would not agree to a decision that is not based on compromise," he said. Kharchenko reminded that the UN Security Council at a meeting on January 16 will consider the latest UNMIK report on Kosovo. The draft resolution will not be discussed on that occasion, the Russian diplomat specified.

LJUBLJANA, Jan 10 (Tanjug) - Slovenia, being a member of the European Union, has to act in keeping the joint foreign and security policy, and although it may sometimes allow itself the luxury to experiment, the Union cannot do that in case of Kosovo, where its complete unity is required, Slovenian President Danilo Tirk said on Wednesday. As far as Bosnia-Herzegovina is concerned, Tirk holds that Slovenia, which is presently chairing the EU, could improve the situation by taking part in the redefinition of the Dayton Agreement and seek new solutions, for which, Tirk believes, the BiH government will be interested.

BERLIN, Jan 10 (Tanjug) - Germany fears a dangerous vacuum if the European Union does not move quickly in recognising an expected declaration of Kosovo independence in February, German Deputy Foreign Minister Gernot Erler said on Wednesday. "It would be much less risky" if the EU agreed to parallel resolutions that would recognise Kosovo and approve the sending of an EU mission, Erler told Reuters, adding that Germany feared the EU mission would not be seen as legitimate by the majority ethnic Albanian population in Kosovo if the EU did not recognise their independence first. According to Erler, a broad EU resolution could allow a majority of the bloc's members to recognise Kosovo's independence, while offering dissenting states other options. The German deputy foreign minister said that he backed the possibility that SAA be signed between Serbia and the EU in January.

PRISTINA, Jan 10 (Tanjug) - Newly-appointed Kosovo premier Hasim Taci said on Wednesday that Pristina would proclaim the province's independence in the next couple of weeks, thus rehashing speculations that this might happen in Febuary or March. I am convinced that we will proclaim independence in the next couple of weeks, Taci told reporters after a session of the parliament. This is a fait accompli, and the only thing we have to do is proclaim it, he added. UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker warned at the parliament session in Pristine that the next steps had to be made in close cooperation with the international community and that they demanded a high degree of responsibility.

BANJA LUKA, Jan 9 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said in Banja Luka on Wednesday that today's signing of the agreement on parliamentary cooperation is an opportunity for the parliaments of Serbia and RS to work together on securing prosperity and european prospects. "This is a chance for the representatives of the citizens and all national communities in the Serbian and RS parliaments to express their will and work together on boosting the capacities in the parliaments and state institutions, which exist both in RS and in Serbia, in order to achieve our joint goal - a stable and prosperious society, better living standards for all citizens and european prospects," Tadic stated. Speaking after the signing of the agreement on the cooperation of the parliaments of Serbia and RS, Tadic set out that work remains to be completed and that much in the sphere of econmic cooperation should be realized in the future. "I am certain that our institutions that are in charge of cooperation, the two governments, will focus on this in the first days of 2008," Tadic stated. He recalled the existence of an agreement on the integration of the two electric power industries, adding that he would insist on this in the coming days. "At the top of our priorities are always the interests of the people who live here, in RS, BiH and in Serbia, and we will always care about them regardless of on which side of the Drina River they live," Tadic pointed out. "We want links, we want the best possible regional cooperation, we want to secure prosperity for our citizens through institutional cooperation," Tadic set out.

BELGRADE, Jan 9 (Tanjug) - Serbian Premier Vojislav Kostunica on Wednesday sent felicitations to RS president and prime minister–R.Kuzmanovic and M.Dodik respectively, as well as RS Day and its patron saint St Stephan. Kostunica underscored the importance of the further strengthening of the overall links between Serbia and RS on the basis of the Agreement on Special and Parallel Relations. He said that in the coming period, apart from readiness to provide all the necessary support to RS, Serbia would continue to strengthen economic ties between the two republics. Kostunica stated that Serbia urges the consistent respect of the UN Charter and SC decisions and that, as a guarrantor of the Dayton Peace Accords, it firmly holds that the principles of international law are inviolable and that the protection and preservation of all rights of the Serb nation are the duty and obligation that are based on the Dayton PA. Kostunica wished RS to continue strengthening its institutions, its overall economic progress and its prosperity to the benefit of all its citizens. He underscored that the citizens of Serbia are specially pleased to see the constant progress achieved by RS, which has become a significant factor of regional links in the economic and cultural spheres.

BANJA LUKA, Jan 9 (Tanjug) - A protocol on parliamentary cooperation between Serbia and the RS signed in Banja Luka is based on the Article 7 of the agreement on special parallel ties ratified by both parliaments last year and on the joint statement of both parliament speakers of November 30, 2004. The document, presented to Tanjug, went into effect immediately after it was signed by Serbian and Srpska parliament Speakers Oliver Dulic and Igor Radojicic. It specifies that the two parliaments will cooperate in good will through their representatives, committees and services, in keeping with the Constitutions of Serbia, Srpska and Bosnia-Herzegovina. It envisages regular meetings of the speakers alternately in Serbia and Srpska at least twice a year, to discuss the activities, and recommendations of the bilateral cooperation council, the situation in both states, cooperation and regional and all other issues. The general secretaries of the two parliaments will define annual plans and technical details for cooperation of parliamentary services, visits, studies and exchange of experts, the document says. Presidents of parliamentary committees and other bodies will prepare annual meetings to exchange experiences in legislation and practice. The document also envisages expanding cooperation to other parliaments in the region and their bodies.

BANJA LUKA, Jan 9 (Tanjug) - The best gift to the Republic of Srpska on its national day is the visit of the Serbian delegation headed by President Boris Tadic, Srpska President Rajko Kuzmanovic. The agreement on special parallel ties between Serbia and Srpska is a document establishing lasting ties and cooperation in these troubled times, and brings good to all nations in Srpska and Bosnia-Herzegovina, he said following the signing of a protocol on cooperation between Srpska and Serbian parliaments. Srpska will never be a source of disruption but a progressive factor in Bosnia which will build good relations with its neighbors and Europe, Kuzmanovic said. He thanked Tadic and Serbian parliament Speaker Oliver Dulic for upholding the agreement. Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said that the agreement on fostering parliamentary cooperation was particularly important at the time when Srpska is seeking recognition as a successful democratic community.

NOVI PAZAR, Jan 10 (Tanjug) - Last year, the Serbian economy made huge progress and marked a 7.3 percent economic growth, which represents the fastest growth rate in Europe, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic assessed Wednesday in talks with Novi Pazar businesspeople. "It is up to us to secure conditions for much speedier economic development," Djelic said, adding that the progress is even more significant if one has in mind where we first started. The deputy prime minister pointed out that the Stabilization and Association Agreement was initialed in record time and added that this commercial agreement will allow businesspeople to know exactly what is going on and where. Djelic assessed that the agreement will be signed very soon, by the end of January, after which Serbia will become a candidate for European integration.

SARAJEVO, Jan 9 (Tanjug) - Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac said on Wednesday that he did not think it was realistic to expect Serbia to receive an invitation to join NATO and assessed that in the Serbian Assembly there was no readiness for the country to advance toward NATO. "The government had a clear Euroatlantic orientation. The policy has changed since August last year after, in my assessment, an unprincipled reaction to NATO, that accused it of being the chief advocate of the independence of Kosovo," Sutanovac said in an interview with the Sarajevo Dnevni Avaz. He added that Serbia should not show reservations towards NATO and that "Serbia has on its territory NATO troops in Kosovo and they are keeping the peace there." Responding to the question about the speculation in the media in Serbia about the deployment of Russian troops and missiles, Sutanovac called it a publicity ploy and underscored that American, Russian or any other troops were welcome to hold exercises with the Serbian Army, but that "no one's missiles are welcome in Serbia."

BELGRADE, Jan 9 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Ministry Secretary General Mirko Stefanovic told Tanjug Wednesday that Serbia's diplomatic service network abroad will be rationalized in line with foreign policy priorities and financial capabilities. Some consulates will closed, such as the one in Bari, while others might be strengthened, he said. Care will be taken not to jeopardize the activities of the ministry or the relations with other states by hasty moves, he added. Serbia will open very shortly an embassy in Montenegro and another in the United Aarab Emirates when the time comes, Stefanovic said. The personnel in the Serbian mission to the European Union will be increased to foster prospects for integration, he added.