Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said that Serbia will not join the EU until the issue of Kosovo is solved.

“It is not possible for the entire western Balkans to enter the EU and the issue of Kosovo, including its status, to remain unresolved,” Djelic said.

Djelic also said that neither Kosovo can ever join EU because some EU states do not recognize it.

Because of this, Djelic says that Djelic said that there is a “strong incentive to reach agreement on Kosovo, so that these two things, Europe and Kosovo, are not opposed, but have a certain synergy.”

“Our journey to Europe helps in solving the Kosovo issue, and does not hinder it,” Djelic said.

He said that the government of Serbia had not reached a decision about negotiations, as it was unfamiliar with the terms and format.

Djelic ruled out any “talks between Pristina and Belgrade in any way meaning an indirect recognition of Kosovo.”

Djelic said that EU is Serbia’s strategic goal.

“What happened in New York at the U.N. General Assembly really reveals what our country’s central strategic goal is and confirmed that this is full membership in the EU in the quickest possible time,” Djelic said.

The decision on Serbia’s EU candidacy will be made in OCtober.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said that the fact that five EU countries have not recognized Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence guarantees and makes it easier for Serbia to feel at peace and thereby preserve confidence in the EU.

September 16, 2010
SERBIANNA

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