Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said yesterday after the talks with Secretary of State for European Affairs at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Diego Lopez Garrido that Serbia is happy that it can count on Spain’s vote in December when the EU summit will be deciding on Serbia’s candidacy for membership.
Djelic said at a joint press conference with Lopez Garrido that for Serbia it is important to obtain both the EU candidate status and the date for the beginning of accession negotiations at the December summit.
Serbia will be able to count on Spain’s vote if it carries out the necessary reforms this year, the Deputy Prime Minister said.
He also thanked Spain for maintaining a neutral position in all issues related to Kosovo-Metohija.
Spanish companies should be more present in Serbia, Djelic said, recalling that Spanish company CAF won a €90 million tender for supply of trams last year, and that two months ago the agreement was signed with a Spanish company for construction of the Zezelj Bridge in Novi Sad.
Lopez Garrido said that Madrid supports European integration of Serbia and confirmed that Serbia can count on every support from Spain, especially when it comes to the reforms necessary for EU membership.
He welcomed the fact that the majority of Serbian population support the European integration because they are is aware that this will enable democratisation, a higher standard of living and the creation of a new democratic state.
Speaking about whether Serbia can get the EU candidate status in December if the war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic is not extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Lopez Garrido said that Serbia is expected to provide full cooperation with the tribunal, but that nobody has set this as a direct condition.
He noted that it is very important that Serbia has carried out reforms in the fields of judiciary, political development, economy and human rights.
Source Serbian Government.
