EU commissioner: Serbia running out of time

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, who is coming to Serbia next week, told B92 that he would tell the Serbian authorities that "the time was running out", and that they should speed up the process of fulfilling conditions necessary to obtain EU candidate status.

EU commissioner: Serbia running out of time

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, who is coming to Serbia next week, told B92 that he would tell the Serbian authorities that "the time was running out", and that they should speed up the process of fulfilling conditions necessary to obtain EU candidate status.

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He pointed out that Serbia needed a positive report from Chief Hague Prosecutor Serge Brammertz, and "concrete progress in the talks with Priština", in order to get the EU candidate status.

B92: Mr. Fule, you are getting ready for a visit to Belgrade which coincides with the last months - if not weeks - ahead of the moment when you are going to start assessing how much progress Serbia has made and whether it should be given EU candidate status. How do you see the process? Is Serbia running late or is everything going according to plan?

Fule: The main goal of the visit is to encourage Serbia to use those really last weeks and months, to deal with the remaining issues we insisted on in our latest report on progress. I see that Serbia has made a great progress. You have a highly qualified, professional team that is dealing with European integrations. I hope that politicians will fit in as well by being ready to finish what is necessary in the field of legislation in the next weeks and months. I hope that we will manage to explain to the Serbian citizens what the European plan represents. When I was in Belgrade last time I had a feeling that politicians in Serbia, at least some of them, look at domestic plans separately from European ones. I hope that (European Commission) President (Jose Manuel) Barroso’s visit and mine will help your citizens and politicians understand that they match.

B92: After our last interview in February, when Serbia submitted answers to the EC questionnaire, the deputy prime minister made a list which he called “ten European commandments”. Judicial reforms, combat against corruption, adoption of laws on restitution, changes to the election law were on the list of things that needed to be done. It was clear that much needed to be done. Do you see any progress?

Fule: Do I see progress? Yes. Now, it remains to be seen whether this progress is enough. I don’t know, many things are still underway. There is a plan, it was adopted by your government in December last year. There are people who are acting upon it. We are in constant contact with them, we are helping and giving support as much as we can. Some time has been lost, you had a government reshuffle. When I was in Belgrade I said that I was hoping that the new government would speed up the work. I had an opportunity and pleasure to speak in parliament and I repeated everywhere what I thought should be done.

B92: Two months later, do you think that there is still enough time or is Serbia starting to lag behind irreparably?

Fule: I think it is still early to judge. If you want to achieve something, if you have brave and experienced politicians who are prepared to do anything in order to fulfill their citizens’ wishes, you can achieve a lot. There is time to do all that. That’s why I’m saying that Barroso and I will not assess the situation during our visit. This will be done during the summer break and immediately after the summer. This is still time when we give Serbia support considering that it overcame extremely big challenges and done so much in the last year and a half. It is an opportunity to crown the process now.

B92: If you will start your work regarding the preparation of opinion on Serbia at the end of the summer break, does it practically mean that Serbia needs to finish its part of the job by the beginning of summer? Therefore, we are talking about June.

Fule: I think that you have assessed the situation well. Our partners in Serbia are familiar with this fact. They know their homework and they know that they have to speed up their work.

B92: You are coming to Serbia after Serge Brammertz. It is again being said that his assessment of Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague Tribunal will be of key importance. How important is the report really?

Fule: We have already talked about the “ten commandments”. There are no more and less important things. Everything is a part of the same package, including full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. Let me point something out. In October last year, when the EU member states were deciding whether to give the Commission the green light to start reviewing Serbia’s EU candidacy bid, full cooperation with the Tribunal was stressed as something especially important. That is why we repeat the message in all contacts with the Serbian officials.

B92: The report has to be positive?

Fule: Yes.

B92: Finally I would like to ask you about increasing speculation in the media that you have high expectations from the Belgrade-Priština talks and that progress which will be made in that field could affect your decision and EU member states’ support, for giving making Serbia EU membership candidate.

Fule: The rules of the game are clear as far as the Commission is concerned. They are determined by the “ten commandments”, past reports on progress, hundreds of questions we sent to Serbia, and the answers. This is a basis on which we will recommend the future status to the member states. They decide then, all 27 EU member states should declare themselves on our recommendations. They have their individual interests. What we agree on, both the Commission and the members, is that the Belgrade-Priština talks are an important element of regional cooperation. We share the opinion that the talks cannot be held simply for the sake of talking, but they need to have some results instead. But not in order to satisfy some countries or somebody in the Commission - rather to do something concrete for the sake of everyday lives of the people who live in Kosovo. Therefore, it is an important question for the evaluation of the general situation, if one expected some concrete results. Of course, the talks will be continued. We are not setting artificial deadlines or determining what we want to see, on both sides, that there is readiness to move forward, not only talk but to make some progress as well.

B92: While we are discussing the candidate status issue - is Serbia risking losing the so-called White Schengen, the visa-free regime?

Fule: I am aware of the importance of this question. I hope that politicians are also aware that it is important to do everything so that the Serbian citizens keep using the benefits of the visa-free regime. But there are certain obligations that need to be fulfilled. I would not want to speculate about what will happen, but it is important that everybody in Serbia take all the necessary steps and eliminate the need of the EU member states to consider taking some restrictive measures.