Belgrade, 14. 04. 2008.

SERBIA - EU

• TADIC SAYS DJELIC AUTHORIZED TO SIGN EU AGREEMENT
• TADIC: NOT LIKELY SAA WILL BE OFFERED FOR SIGNING BEFORE ELECTIONS
• TADIC: AGREEMENT WITH EU TO ATTRACT RUSSIAN INVESTMENTS
• KOSTUNICA: SERBIA BELONGS IN EU
• SUTANOVAC: I TALKED ABOUT SERBIA'S EUROPEAN PATH IN BRUSSELS
• ILIC CALLS FOR PRESIDENTIAL RECALL IF EU AGREEMENT IS SIGNED
• VERHAGEN: NETHERLANDS READY TO LET SERBIA SIGN SAA
• NAGY: NO NEWS REGARDING SAA

• KOSTUNICA: QUESTION OF KOSOVO IS QUESTION WHETHER WE ARE STATE
• KOSOVO STORY NOT OVER YET, THERE IS STILL ROOM FOR OPTIMISM
• KOSTUNICA SAYS FUTURE GAS PIPELINE WILL BE BENEFICIAL
• KOSTUNICA SAYS SERBIA WILL HOLD LOCAL ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO
• RIK GIVES APPROVAL TO OSCE TO MONITOR ELECTIONS

• UNMIK: LOCAL ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO WOULD BE ILLEGAL
• DJELIC SAYS NO MOTION FOR KOSOVO TO JOIN IMF YET
• RUPEL AND BAN ON KOSOVO

• JAT GM: PRIVATIZATION TENDER TO BE ANNOUNCED BY END OF MAY
• BASE ELEMENT IS READY FOR DIALOGUE

BELGRADE, April 11 (Beta) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said on April 11 that he did not know whether Serbia would be offered to sign an agreement on stabilization and association with the EU at an upcoming EU foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on April 28.

He, however, stressed that Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic was authorized to sign the document if given the opportunity.

From the Democratic Party's headquarters Tadic told citizens in different parts of Serbia over the telephone that the Serbian government had already decided to sign the agreement with the EU and that it was impossible to annul the agreement without a new majority. He also said that Serbia "must join the EU" and that "there is no alternative" to this process.

Later that day Tadic told TV Enter that the there was only a slight probability of Serbia being invited to sign the agreement with the EU before the Serbian elections, saying that, "We should not get the citizens' hopes up too high." "If there is such a possibility, Serbia's representatives must do this because it is in the interest of the citizens and preserving our integrity in Kosovo and Metohija," Tadic said. He stressed that Serbia's refusal to accept the EULEX mission in Kosovo could not be an obstacle to relations with EU states and European integration. "The EU cannot prevent us from signing the agreement on stabilization and Serbia's further European integration because we do no accept EULEX, as EULEX does not have full legitimacy," Tadic stressed.

He added that it would be a good thing if UNMIK granted Serbia jurisdiction over holding elections in Kosovo, but that U.N. resolution 1244 needed to be honored in the process because it was the only basis for preserving Serbia's sovereignty in Kosovo.

"I think that both local and parliamentary elections should be held in Kosovo. I have informed the ministers of state administration and Kosovo and Metohija of my stance and it is now up to them to produce their own solutions, as this is not the president's job," Tadic said.

BELGRADE, April 14 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic has said that the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union (EU) is "not a party issue, but one of the state," and that it is not irrelevant when the SAA will be signed, but that he believes "it is unlikely that this will happen before the elections."

In an interview for the Belgrade daily Politika published on Monday, Tadic said that "this is why there is no reason for certain parties - in particular those that were in favor of the signing of that agreement, like the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) - to discuss this now, fearing that this signing could bring a percentage of votes to the coalition rallied around the Democratic Party (DS)." "It is not a party issue, but one of the state," Tadic said. The DSS also says that this is a state issue, but their argument is that the main countries of the EU have accepted the independence of Kosovo and that this is why the EU policy toward Serbia should be reconsidered, Politika said, asking Tadic for his comment.

"That is precisely one of those confusing ideas that are being set before the public ahead of these elections," Tadic replied. "The only thing possible is that the DSS should ask those countries that have recognized the illegal independence of Kosovo and Metohija to change their policy," Tadic said. The DSS cannot ask this of the EU, because it has not recognized Kosovo, nor will it do so because it does not have the mandate to recognize states, Tadic said. "However, it suits the DSS to present its member states and the European Union as equal entities because of the anti-European policy that this party is now practicing," Tadic pointed out.

BELGRADE, April 13 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic has said "there is no dilemma whatsoever" that by signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU we would also attract Russian investments.

"There is no dilemma whatsoever. I would also like to see that an agreement on free trade with the Russian Federation be signed in the Duma, which has still not happened. This would provide more certainty for the agreement's future implementation," Tadic said in an interview for Belgrade daily Politika, which will be published in whole on Monday. Tadic underlined that he also advocated a ratification of the energy agreement with Russia in the Serbian parliament, adding that it would be tragicomic if he was not supporting that, since it was he that had initiated the whole thing.

"The government of (Vojislav) Kostunica and (Miroljub) Labus criticized me because of that idea at the time. It is good that at least one partner from that government has changed his opinion in the meantime," Tadic said. "It would be best for our economy if the Stabilisation and Association Agreement opened a free trade zone with the EU, and if we made similar agreements with both Ukraine and Turkey," the Serbian president said.

BELGRADE, April 14 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has said that "Serbia belongs to the European Union (EU)," but it should not get there "on its hands and knees," but standing straight, like all the other members have done. "Let there be no doubt, I believe Serbia belongs in the EU, but that it should join the EU in a normal way, like any other country," Kostunica said, speaking in a broadcast on Belgrade-based television B92 on Sunday evening.

Explaining his opposition to the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU under the present circumstances, Kostunica said it must be unequivocally determined before this signing within which borders the EU recognizes Serbia. Article 135 of the initialed SAA describes Serbia as an entity in keeping with United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1244, he said, but it is not known whether the SAA will be offered for signing in the same form. Even if the SAA were to guarantee the territorial integrity of Serbia in keeping with Resolution 1244, Serbia should seek additional guarantees for its integrity, Kostnica said.

"The only thing that worries me is the lack of seriousness and the ease in insisting that the Agreement should be accepted at all costs," Kostunica said, commenting on the insistence of the coalition For a European Serbia - Boris Tadic, that the SAA should be signed as soon as possible. The statement that Serbia will never recognize the independence of Kosovo, which officials of the list For a European Serbia often make, does not mean anything in itself unless it is backed by an active approach to the struggle for the preservation of the southern province, Kostunica pointed out. The DS and G17 Plus, among other things, did not want charges to be filed against the states that have recognized the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo, Kostunica said.

JAGODINA, April 13 (Tanjug) - Defence minister, Dragan Sutanovac, said late on Saturday that while in Brussels, he had met with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, but that he had not signed anything that could be "to the detriment of the Serbian people," as his political opponents were claiming.

Responding to the accusations regarding his meetings in Brussels, which he had visited together with DS vice president and speaker of the Vojvodina Assembly, Bojan Pajtic, Sutanovac said that he had left for Brussels with only one message: "Europe right now, Kosovo forever."

"I also conferred with Javier Solana, with the people from Olli Rehn's office, with deputies of the European Parliament, and in two days, we had 15 meetings," Sutanovac, who attended a DS pre-election convention in Jagodina, told Tanjug. During the talks with Scheffer, I informally discussed the issue of stability not only in Kosovo, but also in the entire region, and I believe he is a man who fully understands the situation in the region and that we should thank him that no major incidents occurred on March 17, Sutanovac added.

BELGRADE, April 13 (Beta) - Minister Velimir Ilic said on April 13 that the party would motion for president Tadic to be recalled if Serbia signed a stabilization and association agreement with the EU.

"By approving the signing of this agreement the president of the country would be violating the constitution of his own country and Serbian parliament's resolution (on Kosovo)," Ilic said during a visit to the Bor municipality to attend an election rally.

He said he hoped that an earlier government decision authorizing Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic to sign the agreement would be revoked.

"I expect Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica to use his prerogative tomorrow (April 14), to revoke this decision, thereby preventing Djelic from signing the agreement in Luxembourg on April 28," Ilic stressed.

He added that Djelic had been authorized to sign the agreement at a government session, though under the condition that Serbia is allowed to join the EU with Kosovo.

BELGRADE, April 11 (Tanjug) - Dutch Foreign Minister Maxim Verhagen said on Friday that his country is ready to allow Serbia to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union (EU), provided Belgrade pledges it will not ratify or implement the Agreement before it realizes full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

In a statement for Serbian Radio Television RTS, Verhagen said that the first opportunity for signing the SAA will be the EU ministerial meeting in Luxembourg on April 28. The Netherlands has so far objected to Serbia signing the SAA with the EU, insisting that it should first extradite Ratko Mladic to the ICTY. In order for the SAA to become operable, it must be accepted by all EU member-states.

BRUSSELS, April 11 (Tanjug) - The European Commission has no news in connection with the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia, so that the stand expressed by European Union (EU) Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn during his recent meeting with Serbian Parliament President Oliver Dulic remains in force, Rehn's spokesperson Krisztina Nagy said in a statement for Tanjug in Brussels on Friday.

Last week, after the meeting with Dulic, Rehn said there is currently no political consensus within the EU on the issue of the signing of the SAA with Serbia, speaking in answer to a question put to him by the Tanjug correspondent. The discussion within the EU will continue, Rehn had said, pointing out that he personally believes the SAA can be signed, and the relevant conditions transferred to its ratification.

A similar stand was this week expressed by EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana in a speech before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (EP). EP Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Jacek Saryusz-Wolski has announced that the EP will practice parliamentary diplomacy in connection with the question of Serbia over the coming weeks.

BELGRADE, April 12 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has said that for him, the "question of Kosovo is a question whether we are a state and whether we respect ourselves as a nation or we are just a marionette state that bargains over its vital interests."

In an interview for the Saturday issue of the Belgrade daily Pres, he said that for him, Kosovo was more than just politics, a territory, it was something that was far more important than any post, any possible relaxations or donations and added that, in his opinion, it was this issue that "will also resolve the issue of who will make the future government."

Asked whether he was a Eurosceptic or even an anti-European and why he opposed to the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), Kostunica replied that he was for Serbia, that all he was interested in was Serbia's state and national interest. "I did not perform the duty of an European commissioner, but rather the duty of Serbian prime minister, and every Serbian premier has, above all, to take care of Serbia," he said. "There is this other question - what kind of relationship does Serbia have to have with the EU? The best possible, but only on equal grounds. If Brussels shows respect for Serbia's territorial wholeness, I will be the biggest Euro-optimist ever. My stand towards the EU depends on the stand the EU has towards Serbia," the prime minister underlined. Kostunica said what was important for him was not to maintain his post of prime minister after the May elections, but rather that the principles the "people's coalition" was advocating for be realised.

CACAK, April 13 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has said that the Kosovo story is not over yet and that there is still room for optimism as regards the final resolution of this issue. "Many believed that time would heal the wounds, that Serbia would yield to the pressure and that the world would consent to a serious violation of international law, but this did not happen.

The very fact that about 150 countries, which have not recognised Kosmet's independence, have taken Serbia's side tells us a lot," Kostunica said late on Saturday, in a live broadcast by TV Cacak. He underlined that a serious and difficult problem had been created because someone had decided to create a new state there, but not because of the (ethnic) Albanians, but because of NATO. "Now things regarding Kosovo are getting worse and worse for those that have recognised the independence, but there are a lot better than has been expected as far as Serbia itself is concerned. This is why I think there is room for our optimism," Kostunica concluded. Prime Minister Kostunica said that confusion, inactivity and corruption governed in Kosovo, and that the only thing that was functioning there was the US Bondsteel base.

CACAK, April 11 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica visited Cacak on Friday afternoon and put into operation a modern gas-fuelled heating plant from which about 5,000 flats will be heated. The European Agency for Reconstruction and Development invested four million euros in its construction and equipment. Kostunica said that this was the best example of Serbia's openness for cooperation with the European Union.

"When economic cooperation is concerned, Serbia is open to the European Union and other states, United States and Russian Federation, but when the European Union is concerned I cannot help but mention a dispute which should be resolved. This dispute is solved by entering a dialogue as partners and getting an answer to the question what are the borders and what is Serbia's territory when the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement is concerned," he said.

Kostunica said that it was good that such a heating plant had been built because it used the most cost effective and environmentally most favorable type of fuel. "This is in connection with another important deal that awaits us right after the May 11 elections, which is the ratification of a cooperation agreement in the oil industry between Russia and Serbia. I can say with satisfaction that as such heating plants are built and as the trunk pipeline is gradually built, Serbia's face will change. This will make it possible to open new jobs, help develop the economy and bring benefit which will be felt by each household in Serbia when they receive natural gas," the prime minister said.

BELGRADE, April 13 (Beta) – Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said on April 13 that Serbia would organize local elections in Kosovo, denying any agreement between the Democratic Party of Serbia and the Serbian Radical Party on the formation of a joint cabinet after elections on May 11.

Kostunica told B92 TV that the purpose of elections was chiefly to provide legitimacy and that Serbia would hold local elections in Kosovo. "We will simply legitimize Kosovo as a part of Serbia by holding elections in Kosovo, whether UNMIK wants this or not in the all-out legal chaos reigning in Kosovo."

As for signing a stabilization and association agreement with the EU, Kostunica said that after the province's unilateral declaration of independence, it was normal to ask the EU to make known its views.

He said that the agreement, initialed on Nov. 7, was not in dispute, because "it speaks of Serbia as a whole with one part under U.N. rule," but that it was now necessary to provide additional guarantees of Serbian sovereignty and clarify any dilemmas.

Asked whether he would revoke the deputy prime minister's authorization to sign the stabilization and association agreement with the EU, Kostunica said that "agreement has not yet been offered and no one has seen the agreement."

Asked to explain the lack of distancing from the Radical Party, Kostunica told B92 TV that the reason for this was that the Serbian cabinet had not been brought down by the opposition (the radicals) but was a result of Kosovo and a disagreement between coalition partners [the Democratic Party and G17 Plus].

Asked which party's principles were closer to him, Kostunica said the principles that he had not given up were "the democratic principle and the national principle" and that these principles were being implemented as per the circumstances.

Kostunica blasted his former coalition partners for not taking stronger action toward the foreign countries that had recognized Kosovo's independence.

"We should have immediately filed a lawsuit against those countries that recognized Kosovo," he said, adding that this question would still be open-ended when the new cabinet was created.

BELGRADE, April 12 (Tanjug) - The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) gave late on Friday an approval to the observers of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (ODIHR/OSCE) to follow the work of RIK and the bodies in charge of the realisation of the elections for parliament deputies that have been called for May 11.

The work of the bodies in charge for the realisation of the elections should be followed by 35 observers of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, while seven ODIHR observers are supposed to follow the work of the RIK seated in Belgrade. The Serbian government discussed RIK's proposal regarding the request of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights that its observers monitor the work of the bodies in charge of the realisation of the elections for parliament deputies, the Serbian government said in a statement The government has given its approval and holds as necessary that corresponding conditions be provided for the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to monitor the work of these bodies at the forthcoming elections for parliament deputies.

PRISTINA, April 11 (Beta) - UNMIK has said that Serbian municipal elections in Kosovo would be illegal according to U.N. Resolution 1244 on Kosovo.

"UNMIK has sent a letter to Minister [Slobodan] Samardzic, explaining our current stance, which is that holding Serbian municipal elections in Kosovo is illegal according to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244. Parliamentary elections, however, are possible," UNMIK spokesman Sven Lindholm said on April 11.

Lindholm said that UNMIK's response was sent to Belgrade on April 10 and that UNMIK was now waiting for the cabinet's reply.

The Pristinabased Koha Ditore newspaper said on April 12 that UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker had requested that Serbia refrain from holding local elections in Kosovo on May 11 and offered to help organize municipal elections in Serb areas in Kosovo after this date.

Koha Ditore said it had a copy of Ruecker's letter to Samardzic and that municipal elections could be organized in at least a dozen municipalities inhabited by Kosovo Serbs.

"Considering the Serbian cabinet's interest in cooperating with UNMIK on this question, Ruecker explained that organizing elections could be discussed in the context of implementing further decentralization plans," Koha Ditore said.

Ruecker warned that an attempt by Serbia to hold local elections in Kosovo without UNMIK's permission was a violation of Resolution 1244 which gave UNMIK the exclusive right to call elections in Kosovo.

Washington, April 13 (Beta) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said on April 13 that there was presently no initiative for Kosovo to join the International Monetary Fund.

Djelic, who is attending the IMF and World Bank's spring meeting in Washington D.C., told BETA over the telephone on April 13 that he met with IMF GM Dominique Strauss Kahn who told him that at the moment there was no motion for Kosovo to join the IMF.

Djelic said he had also explained Serbia's official policy on Kosovo to Strauss Kahn, that Belgrade will never recognize Kosovo and that it will do everything in its power to prevent Kosovo from joining the IMF.

"Mr. Strauss Kahn informed me that there were no initiatives in that direction and that in that sense we have several more months to fight," Djelic said, explaining that it "will be a difficult fight" given that IMF membership was decided on the basis of majority capital, and that "a number of very wealth nations have recognized Kosovo."

He said that he also discussed Serbia's economic situation with IMF and World Bank representatives on April 13.

Djelic said that because Serbia's cabinet was a caretaker one, the Serbian delegation did not have the authority to discuss a new arrangement with the IMF.

NEW YORK, April 13 (Tanjug) - Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel has said, after his New York talks with UN Secretary General, that Ban Ki Moon has a couple of new ideas as regarding the Kosovo-Metohija issue.

It was obvious in the talks that he had a few new ideas, which we in the EU will have to pay attention to and discuss, said Minister Rupel, who is also President of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council, Slovenia's national news agency STA reported on Sunday. According to Rupel, over the next couple of days and weeks, several more round of talks will be held regarding the efforts that should be made as far as Kosovo is in question. The parliamentary elections in Serbia are approaching, and the EU is considering several options, Rupel said.

BELGRADE, April 11 (Beta) - JAT Airways general manager Sasa Vlaisavljevic has said that the state will call a privatization tender for the national air carrier in May.

"Several reputable international airlines are interested in JAT, including a number from the EU," Vlaisavljevic told BETA in an interview.

Although at this stage of the process he was unable to name any of them due to confidentiality requirements, Vlaisavljevic did say that are five or six suitors.

He added that Russia's Aeroflot and Iceland Air expressed an interest in JAT Airways a while ago.

"The JAT management insists that the conditions of the tender require the future buyer to guarantee the survival of the company and investment in a new fleet, which means a significant sum," he said.

The purchase of new aircraft would cost EUR200400 million. At present, the carrier operates 16 aircraft that are on average 17 years old. In addition, JAT owes international creditors USD209 million.

The value of the Serbian flag carrier is being estimated and a report should be out in several weeks, according to Vlaisavljevic, who stressed that JAT's planes, real estate, and rights appear to be worth up to EUR150 million.

JAT employs 1,811 people, has over 30 international offices staffed by 44 people, and operates up to 40 lines in Europe, Asia, and the Mediterranean part of Africa in the summer.

MOSCOW, April 11 (Tanjug) - The Basel-based Base Element company of Oleg Deripaska, whose daughter company SoyuzMetalResurs (SMR) was the second at a tender for the privatisation of the RTB Bor works, is expecting an official invitation to the resumption of negotiations on the privatisation of the RTB and is ready for a dialogue, Tanjug was told at the Base Element.

"We are open for a dialogue and we need an official invitation for this," Resource Sector PR Jelena Rollins told Tanjug. The Russian company offered 370 million dollars and investments in the modernisation and development of production worth 462 million dollars at the second tender for the sale of the RTB Bor of August 31, 2007.