Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić stated on Friday that Serbia’s answers to the EC questionnaire represented “an X-ray of the countryâ€.
He added that the Serbian government would determine the final answers next week, after which they would be forwarded to the European Commission (EC) on January 31.
The Serbian Anti-Corruption Agency filed a request on Tuesday for initiating infringement proceedings against Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić. This came after Äelić failed to transfer management rights over his company within the set deadlines.
At a meeting of the European Commission and the Danube basin countries in Brussels, Serbia was appointed coordinator for the Danube strategy in several fields. They include transport, knowledge economy, security and fight against organized crime, Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić said on Wednesday, Beta news agency reports.
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić says that Serbia could submit the EC questionnaire to EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule on January 31.
“The Serbian administration has been working hard and the process is about to be completed,” he told Tanjug.
The Danube Strategy is a development opportunity for Serbia and for strengthening relations with neighbors. It is one of the key indicators of Serbia’s European future, said Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić on Monday in Golubac.
Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić confirmed on Saturday that France would donate EUR 3mn for a feasibility study for the construction of the Belgrade subway.
French and Serbian experts will work together on the study, he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić has stated that Serbia will have answers to EC questionnaire by the end of the first quarter of 2011.
He pointed out that Serbia was expecting 2.500 questions.
Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić stated Saturday that the Serbian government and the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) will prepare a microcredit model.
This would see loans ranging from two to three thousand euros granted to the most impoverished citizens without asking for guarantees.
The Dutch parliament decision still does not mean that Serbia’s progress toward the EU will be halted, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić said.
He told Belgrade daily Blic that a Serbian delegation would make an effort to “unfreeze†Serbia’s candidacy bid on October 25 in Luxembourg.
Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić said that the official Belgrade would make an effort until the last moment to get a “green light” for its candidacy. Two weeks prior to the EU Council of Ministers’ session, where the fate of Serbian candidacy for the membership will be decided, the enlargement remains supported by 26 out of 27 EU countries.
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić spoke about Serbia’s World Bank debt in Washington on Thursday. It is very important that the amount of money Serbia will be paying back to the World Bank (WB) over the next four years is not higher than the amount the bank pays to Serbia, he said, according to reports.
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić said it was important that an agreement on forming the Dutch government had been reached. His statement, made ahead of a EU ministers’ decision on Serbian application for accession in the EU, also mentioned that Stefan Fuele and Serge Brammertz would speak about Belgrade’s application before the Dutch parliament on October 6.
Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić says that Serbian state wants to become more efficient and competitive.
Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić said that Serbia could not joint the EU until the status of Kosovo was solved. “It’s not possible for the entire Western Balkans to enter the EU with the issue of Kosovo, including its status, not solved,“ he told B92.
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić said that Serbia could gain EU candidate status by the end of the next year. He also added that the date for starting the talks on the country’s accession into the European Union could be set for mid-2012.
Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić said that European integration is still Serbia’s priority. Conferring on Tuesday with officials of the Ada municipality in Serbia’s northern province Vojvodina, Äelić expressed belief that Hungary, which is to preside over the EU next year, will help Serbia join the EU.
Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić said that the question of Serbia’s EU candidacy would be discussed after the UN General Assembly meets in September. He said that Brussels would wait to see how Serbia would approach the question of the International Court of Justice’s opinion on Kosovo at the UN meeting before it decides on the next course of action regarding Serbia’s EU candidacy.
The EC has included a Serbian project for renewing the Danube-Tisa-Danube river system and waste water processing in Belgrade in its Danube Strategy draft . This decision, made by the European Commission, was announced in Belgrade on Tuesday by Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić. He added that the projects would receive EUR 500mn in funding.
Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić has confirmed that Serbia plans on submitting a resolution to the UN General Assembly regarding Kosovo. This is expected after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gives its opinion on Thursday about legality under international law of the Kosovo Albanian unilateral independence declaration.
Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Äelić and EU delegation chief in Serbia Vincent Degert will be visiting Vranje and Bujanovac in southern Serbia. Degert and Äelić will sign an agreement for EU funds for the implementation of the “European Partnership for Municipalities – PROGRESS†program.
