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Đelić: Membership negotiations to begin by 2012

The current government’s mandate ends in mid-2012. “These are our goals, and it is up to us to secure a consensus within the EU for making them a reality,” Đelić told the Tanjug news agency. He said that the government has worked hard in 2008 and 2009 on European integrations, which resulted in the visa liberalization last year, the implementation of the interim trade agreement and submitting an application for EU membership candidate status. “Citizens often ask me what is happening, and here we are in May, four months have passed, where is the new progress? There is progress, we are implementing our European agenda, working hard, with the goal of beginning the process of the ratification of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) in June,” Đelić said. He said that everything is being done to convince EU member-states to give the go-ahead for the European Commission to evaluate Serbia’s candidate status application. “It is up to us to get the candidacy to be handed over to the EC as soon as possible if it does not happen in June,” Đelić said. Speaking about cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, Đelić reminded of the European Council’s conclusions reached last December, which stated that if Hague Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz gives a positive report on Serbia’s cooperation in June, the ratification of the SAA would begin. Source: Tanjug