Belgrade, 23. 04. 2008.

SERBIA – EU

• KOSTUNICA: NOT DUTCH, BUT RATHER SERBIAN STAND MATTERS
• KOSTUNICA: SIGNATURE ON SAA FOR INDEPENDENT KOSOVO
• LJAJIC SAYS EU STABILIZATION, ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT UNLIKELY
• JUSTICE MINISTER: SERBIA READY TO SIGN AGREEMENT WITH EU
• STEINMEIER: AGREEMENT SIGNING DEPENDS ON BRAMMERTZ'S REPORT
• HUBNER SAYS COMMISSION WORKING ON SERBIA'S EU CANDIDACY
• PETRICH: SIGNING OF SAA BEFORE ELECTIONS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE
• LENARCIC: SERBIA SHOULD SIGN SAA SOON
• EU DRAWS UP DRAFT ROADMAP FOR CANCELLING VISAS FOR SERBIA

• JEREMIC CONFERRED WITH COUNTERPART MORATINOS
• JEREMIC: SERBIA WILL REQUEST ICJ'S OPINION
• SUTANOVAC SAYS NATURAL DISASTERS KNOW NO BORDERS
• AGREEMENT ON PAN-EUROPEAN OIL PIPELINE SIGNED
• TRADE WITH GERMANY TOTALS US$3.1 BILLION IN 2007

• KUBIS: SLOVAKIA IS AGAINST KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE
• CHURKIN: RESOLUTION 1244 MUST BE FOLLOWED

BELGRADE, April 22 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica assessed on Tuesday that the real question was not whether the Netherlands was or was not making allowances so that the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) could be signed before May 11.

"The real question is Serbia's stand towards this agreement which NATO might interpret the next morning as Serbia's signature and recognition of Kosovo as the first NATO state," Kostunica assessed in an interview with Tanjug. According to him, having recognized Kosovo's unilateral independence, Holland has most brutally violated the initialed Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA).

"Because of all this, the Netherlands has no right to pose any conditions to Serbia, but it is rather only natural and essential that Serbia requires clear guarantees both from Holland and all the other EU member countries which have recognized the false sate of Kosovo that the Stabilization and Association Agreement refers to Serbia as one whole," the prime minister noted. He once again pointed to the fact that Serbia had to engage in responsible talks with the EU, in which all disputable issues would be completely clarified, because, as he put it, the people of Serbia are entitled to know and must know what it was exactly that was being signed in their name.

"No one has the right to put Serbia's signature on an agreement which can be interpreted as recognition of Kosovo's independence," Kostunica concluded.

BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said late on April 22 that a signature on the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union would be a signature for an independent Kosovo if Serbia did not have the EU's guarantees for its internationally recognized borders.

Serbia can defend Kosovo until it "puts its signature to something that represents giving up part of our territory," Kostunica told television Studio B and added that the matter of the borders within which the EU viewed Serbia must be clear.

Asked if a resumption of talks with the Kosovo Albanians was possible, Kostunica said that could hardly be expected. He stated that it was very important for the issue of Kosovo not to be closed and added that Serbia was even more present in Kosovo after the province unilaterally declared independence on Feb. 17.

Kostunica said there were legal grounds for a lawsuit before the International Court of Justice against the countries that had recognized Kosovo's independence, primarily against the U.S.

BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - Rasim Ljajic, president of the National Council for Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, confirmed on April 22 that a Dutch diplomat representing European Parliament's Foreign Policy Committee had met with top Serbian officials, but declined to reveal any details about the talks or participants.

"What I can say is that the Dutch stance is still very unyielding and that our chances of signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement are very slim," Ljajic told BETA.

This, however, does not mean, Ljajic stressed, that Serbia will abandon diplomatic activities to get officials in Brussels and Holland to see the importance of signing the agreement.

"Tomorrow I am leaving for Strasbourg where I will meet with the secretary general of the Council of Europe and other officials for the purpose of mustering the support of the highest possible number of organizations and countries for signing the agreement," Ljajic said.

Ljajic earlier announced the arrival of Dutch diplomats, saying that these diplomats would reveal whether Holland intended to change its stance or continue to insist on Serbia's full cooperation with the ICTY before the agreement can be signed.

BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - Serbian Justice Minister Dusan Petrovic said on April 22 that Serbia was ready to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union.

"Serbia will sign the SAA the moment such a decision is made in Brussels," Petrovic told a news conference in the Serbian government building.

He stressed that it was very important to take a formal step toward the EU. "The signing of the agreement with the EU will benefit all citizens of Serbia and help in the fight to preserve the territorial integrity of Serbia," he stated.

Petrovic went on to say that he had no knowledge about when the EU would decide to offer Serbia to sign the document nor about representatives from the Netherlands who had arrived to Belgrade to discuss the agreement with Serbian officials.

BERLIN, April 22 (Beta) - The European Union's decision on signing the stabilization and association agreement with Serbia will mostly depend on the contents of the report by Hague tribunal chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz, German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier said on April 22.

In principle, the EU is willing to support proEuropean democratic forces in Serbia ahead of the elections, Steinmeier told a news conference after meeting with the foreign minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sven Alkalaj.

However, Steinmeier added that the decision would hinge most on Brammertz's report after his recent visit to Belgrade. He went on to say that current impressions were that radical forces had more support among the Serbian people that proEuropean ones.

He said this had to do with Kosovo, but did not further comment on the ratio of political forces in Belgrade. Steinmeier stressed that Germany and the EU intended to help not only to achieve a reign of peace and nonviolence in Kosovo, but to make it a democratic and multiethnic country.

On April 24, in Berlin, Steinmeier and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn are to discuss the possible signing of the agreement with Serbia and other steps which would mean support to proEuropean forces in Serbia prior to the May 11 elections.

BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - EU Regional Policy Officer Danuta Hubner said in Belgrade on April 22 that the European Commission wanted to see Serbia become a candidate for EU membership as soon as possible, but that a lot needed to be accomplished before that.

"We at the European Commission are working on getting Serbia to obtain candidate status which would open the doors to the Instrument for PreAccession Assistance (IPA) and other funds, which are of great importance to Serbia," Hubner underlined during a meeting with local selfadministration representatives in Serbia, at a round table under the Permanent Conference of Cities and Municipalities.

Hubner stressed that she realized that Serbia is going through a difficult political period, which she had discussed earlier on April 22 with Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, but that a practical approach was necessary to see what could be done on the government level in order to gain access to these important European funds.

Prior to visiting Belgrade, Hubner said that it would be "very difficult" for Serbia to use the EUR 1 billion in financial assistance allocated to it by the EU before 2013, unless it signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU. She confirmed that the European Commission endorsed signing the agreement with Serbia.

At the round table, Hubner stressed the huge importance of decentralization and developing local municipalities, which the EU was particularly devoted to. The EU she said, is still centralized, but the Lisbon agreement pays special attention precisely to regional development.

"Serbia, which will become a part of the EU, needs to decide, on its own, which model of regionalization suits it the best. Each state is different and specific, while the decentralization of power and infrastructure always gives better results," Hubner said.

VIENNA, April 22 (Tanjug) - The signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia before the parliamentary elections, scheduled for May 11, would represent a boomerang for the EU itself, Austraian Ambassador to OSCE Wolfgang Petrich has said.

Nationalists would use the document against the democratic forces, the former high representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina warned in an interview with the Austrian news agency APA. At this moment, the democratic forces in Serbia should not be burdened too much, he said, adding that he believed that the signing of the SAA would only weaken President Boris Tadic.

STRASBOURG, Apr 23 (Tanjug) - Slovenian State Secretary for European Affairs Janez Lenarcic has said in Strasbourg that his government hopes that Serbia would sign a stabilization and association agreement with the European Union by the end of April or, in any case, before the elections called for May 11. In regards to a visa facilitation regime with the EU, Lenarcic underscored that Slovenia urges for as many Serbia's citizens as possible to have a chance to obtain a gratis visa for the EU countries.

Lenarcic also expressed his satisfaction over the progress made in the process of ratification of the Lisbon Agreement, which is one of the main priorities of Slovenia.

BRUSSELS, April 22 (Beta) - The European Commission and EU expert bodies are well under way to composing a "roadmap" which outlines steps for the gradual cancellation of visas for Serbian citizens, while the Slovenian EU chair and European Commission hope that a draft version could be completed by the end of the month.

All the EU members are eager to see Serbia's speedy addition to the so-called Schengen list, EU diplomatic sources in Brussels told BETA.

The authors of the map said that Serbia was well ahead of other western Balkan states in preparing for the introduction of biometric passports and meeting other standards and that other nations in the region were unprepared for a nonvisa regime with the EU.

The first draft of the roadmap for cancelling visas, which will be debated by the EU's permanent representatives on April 24, underlines the importance of high security and the reliability of all documents, particularly personal identification cards.

Serbia is expected to set up a fully secure border supervision regime and to adopt a national strategy for fighting human and drugs trafficking, money laundering, and laws preventing the financing of terrorists and the confiscation of property obtained through crime.

Belgrade must also observe international conventions on cooperation between courts, while Serbia needs to sign the Council of Europe's convention and other international binding acts on the protection of personal information.

MADRID, April 22 (Tanjug) - Spain will not allow the European Union to impose any conditions on Serbia during its European integration in connection with Belgrade's relations with Kosovo-Metohija, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told Tanjug on Tuesday.

Spain will not allow this because it has the same stand regarding the unilateral independence of Serbia's southern province, Jeremic said after a meeting with his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos. "I was explicitly told that nobody can force Spain to recognize unilateral independence and that Serbia cannot be forced either," he said and added that the "signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement could in no way change Serbia's policy towards Kosovo."

Jeremic said that the "strong principled stand of the Spanish government that it regarded unilateral independence as illegal and opposed to international law, so that Spain will not recognize independence of Kosovo-Metohija" had been reiterated during the meeting. "Spain will continue to use all of its political capacity to urge Serbia's full-fledged membership in the European Union," he added.

During the Tuesday visit an agreement on cooperation was signed between the two Foreign Ministries confirming the Spanish Ministry's donations to the Serbian Ministry for the building of administrative capacities necessary for joining the European Union.

BELGRADE, Apr 23 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has stated that the most important goal in the coming period is to limit the number of countries that are prepared to recognize the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo.

In an interview with the Belgrade daily Press, Jeremic said that he believes that "we have so far been successful in that regard more than people have expected it, since less that 40 countries, out of 192 U.N. member states, have so far recognized independence of Kosovo despite the enormous pressure imposed on them.

" We want Serbia to submit a resolution to the UN General Assembly in September saying that "Kosovo proclaimed independence, it is a dubious matter as far as international law is concerned and that is why we request an opinion of the International Court of Justice," underscored Jeremic. He clarified that the Security Council or the U.N. secretary-general may only initiate this. Jeremic also said that the UN Security Council is completely divided, adding that he believes that "we might gain support for this political initiative of the majority at the UN General Assembly, where each state has one vote."

TITEL, April 22 (Beta) - On April 22, Serbian Minister of Defense Dragan Sutanovac said that interstate cooperation was crucial for an effective fight against natural catastrophes.

"Natural catastrophes know no borders and they do not end at state borders, which is why interstate cooperation is important," Sutanovac said at a civilian protection exercise called Sajka 2008 on the Tisa river banks, in Titel.

Teams from Vojvodina, Hungary and Romania are also taking part in the exercise, which is being held as part of a regional civilian protection program in the Danube-Kris-Mures-Tisza Euroregion. A total of 210 people are participating in the exercise, of which 90 from Hungary and 60 from Vojvodina and Romania each.

The purpose of the exercise, which ends on April 24, is to increase reaction speeds and raise team efficiency in alleviating floods and other natural disasters.

The project is worth a total of EUR580,000. Serbia will keep some EUR200,000 worth of civilian protection equipment being used in the exercise, including 35 tents for accommodating 35 families and two large tents with 200 beds including accessories, plus a communications system and boat.

BELGRADE, April 22 (Tanjug) - An agreement on the association of companies from Romania, Serbia and Croatia which will participate in the construction of the pan-European oil pipeline (PEOP) was signed in Bucharest on Tuesday, Managing Director of the Transnafta public enterprise Nebojsa Lemajic told Tanjug.

Lemajic said that the PDC development company would be established in London in the next 1.5 months and that legal experts of all signatories should harmonize their stands and prepare the necessary documents for the registration of the new company that would implement the PEOP. The construction of this oil pipeline, whose annual capacity is estimated at between 60 and 90 million tonnes should cost about 3.5 billion dollars and the section through Serbia about 300 million dollars.

Through the PEOP, oil would be transported from the eastern zone of the Black Sea to the European market. The 1,400-km PEOP should go through Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia to Italy. Shareholders in the newly formed company for the development of this project would be authorized companies from the countries on the route of the pipeline.

BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - Trade between Serbia and Germany in 2007 totaled US$3.1 billion, and approximately US$541 million in the first two months of 2008 alone, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce announced on April 22.

At a meeting of the chamber's section for Germany, participants said that Serbian exports to Germany in 2007 amounted to around US$937 million, some 42 percent more than the previous year, whereas imports totaled about US$2.1 billion or some 50 percent more than in 2006.

According to the chamber's data, exports to Germany account for approximately 10.6 percent of Serbia's overall annual exports, while imports from Germany account for around 11.8 percent of overall Serbian imports.

Serbia mostly exported machine parts, propane, raspberries, hot rolled products, tires for passenger cars, India rubber, wheat, stockings, hot rolled plates, aluminum products, and yellow corn to Germany.

On the other hand, Serbia in 2007 imported from Germany mostly passenger cars, machine parts, cargo trucks, medicine, trucks, trailers and semitrailers, buses, printing paper, and road towing vehicles.

PRISTINA, Apr 22 (Tanjug) - Slovak Foreign Minister Jan Kubis reiterated in Pristina on Tuesday that his country is against recognition of Kosovo's independence, underscoring Slovakia's orientation to increase international military presence in the region.

After his meeting with Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu, Kubis said that Kosovo is "a unique case and that it may not be compared to any other example, but that Slovakia is not ready, for the time being, to recognize its independence." I heard a very clear request by President Sejdiu for recognition of Kosovo's independence, while I confirmed that my country's position is at it is for now, said Kubis. He also said that Slovakia had increased the number of its troops in Kosovo, which, he said, "speaks about its orientation for Kosovo."

Regardless of the fact that it does not wish to recognize Kosovo's independence, Slovakia had given its approval for the deployment of the European Union mission EULEX in Kosovo.

UNITED NATIONES, April 22 (Beta) - Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vitaly Churkin has stated that the U.N. Security Council's Resolution 1244 on Kosovo must be followed, regardless of any situation that might arise, including the adoption of Kosovo's constitution, which Russia does not "consider legal."

Late on April 21, after a Security Council session on Kosovo, Churkin told Russian journalists that UNMIK should continue to fulfill its mandate precisely. It seems that our signal has been noted and accepted both by U.N. special representative Joachim Ruecker and Hashim Thaci, he stated.

Asked about the possibility of holding Serbian parliamentary and local elections in Kosovo, he replied that Russia believed UNMIK should not prevent the implementation of Serbian local elections in Kosovo.

If the U.N. mission has assumed a neutral status, that is, has not responded adequately to the unilateral proclamation of independence, then it should now be consistent and not interfere with the actions of Kosovo Serbs, which may draw certain statusrelated responses, Churkin said, according to Russian media.

The U.N. Security Council on April 21 held a session devoted to Kosovo. Serbian President Boris Tadic addressed the session and asked for UNMIK's mandate to continue in accordance with Resolution 1244.

After the session, the U.S. and United Kingdom ambassadors to the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad and John Sawers, said the U.N. and Resolution 1244 still had their role in Kosovo, but that the role of UNMIK would have to change with the transfer of authority to Kosovan institutions, especially when the Kosovo constitution comes into force on June 15. They urged Serbia to abandon holding elections in Kosovo.