Address by H.E.

Bozidar Djelic Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration of Serbia AFET, European Parliament Brussels, June 16, 2011 Check against delivery Mr. Chairperson, dear Mr. Albertini, Distinguished MEPs, members of AFET, Excellencies, It gives me great pleasure to address you today, five months after our last exchange of views. Much has happened in the meantime. Most importantly, our authorities have located, arrested and extradited General Ratko Mladic. This was our moral obligation. It is an important step towards lasting regional reconciliation. We didnt do it to get a reward from Europe or a shortcut to Europe. We must and we will find Goran Hadzic. We must and we will continue fighting organized crime and corruption. We must and we will deliver on our ambitious reform action plan. Our goal for this years December European Council is clear: setting Spring of 2012 as the target date for opening formal negotiations for accession. Croatia, whose recent closing of negotiations we strongly welcome, achieved just that six years ago. We will do our part for this goal to become a shared one, based on the objective merits of our case. To those who told so many times over the years that they will be tough but fair when dealing with Serbia, I now say, continue being tough, but dont become unfair. As long as we meet the established criteria, dont be unfair to Serbian citizens by inventing new hurdles and blocking their European future. Toughness can help, but unfairness would certainly discourage. Our todays meeting is part of an ever more intensive dialogue between Serbia and the EU on our common goals.
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Last week, both President Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic visited Brussels and had fruitful discussions with EU leaders. The rhythm and substance of contacts between Serbian and EU and Member States officials are definitely on the rise. To nurture this precious new trend, let me immediately invite you to the first Serbia-EU Forum on September 9, 2011 in Belgrade. It will gather around 300 politicians, business people, civil society and media leaders to discuss the European perspective of Serbia and the Western Balkans. Our Mission to the EU will provide you with all details. The event will be opened by President Van Rompuy and President Tadic. It is to become an annual tradition, a focused Davos on the Danube. Make sure you come. Distinguished MEPs, let me thank you for the overwhelming majority this Parliament gave in January to the ratification of the Stabilization and Association Agreement with Serbia. It provided further incentive for EU Member States to proceed on the same path. Up to this day 18 countries have ratified, several others are well advanced, while a few, surprisingly, still hesitate. I am asking for your kind support for this process to be completed by year end. In March, a reshuffled and smaller government was confirmed by the Serbian Parliament for the last year of our mandate. Parliamentary, regional and local elections will be held during Spring 2012, and presidential ones just a few months later. This year will therefore be both a reformist and a pre-electoral one, with European integration again at center stage. Following the green light of the Council last October, our candidature procedure progressed very well. We received on November 24, 2010 and answered on January 31, 2011 almost 2.500 questions from the EC Questionnaire. We received on March 25 and provided by April 21 answers to 629 additional questions. We welcomed six technical missions and are already implementing their useful recommendations. Serbias administration worked hard on this process. With the 96-point reform action plan adopted last December, whose fulfillment every citizen can track on our governments internet site, I am confident that we will provide the right base for the Commission to publish a positive Avis on October 12. Our clear goal for the Avis is that it recommends granting candidate status and opening pre-accession negotiations next Spring. We will work as hard as it takes to get such a high quality Avis that can lead to a consensus at the December European Council. Mr. Chairperson, Distinguished MEPs, Excellencies, Let me now turn to six key issues that must be addressed in order for this goal to become a truly shared one. I will talk briefly about the ICTY, regional collaboration, dialogue with Pristina, visa free travel, the reform agenda, and economic and social issues.
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First, we will continue full collaboration with the ICTY Serbia apprehended and transferred 45 out of 46 persons accused of war crimes. After less than three years in office, with Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic facing international justice, the credibility of President Tadic and our government on this issue has been firmly established. President Jerzy Buzek said following the arrest of General Mladic that This is a convincing proof of Serbia's efforts and cooperation with the ICTY. President Herman Van Rompuy declared that In many ways this is a milestonea major roadblock has been cleared. We want to finish the job as soon as possible. Only truth, justice, and individual rather than collective responsibility can pave the way for a lasting reconciliation in the Balkans. We ask the same standards to be applied to innocent Serbian victims, in particular in the case of serious allegations made in the Council of Europe February report by Senator Dick Marty on human organ harvesting and trafficking in Kosovo. We welcome the involvement of Eulex but remind everyone that international war crimes in exYugoslavia were all handled by a mechanism mandated by the UN Security Council. There is no reason to do things differently only in this case. Second, we will nurture regional cooperation Serbia sees regional cooperation as one of its top priorities. Last March, the Serbian Parliament adopted a Resolution on Srebrenica, the first such document in the region. President Tadic, for the second time, attended the ceremony in Srebrenica on the 15th anniversary of this tragic massacre. Serbia fully supports the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina in line with the Dayton Accords, as one of the guarantors of their implementation. Last November, President Tadic and President Josipovic paid tribute in Vukovar and Paulin Dvor to innocent Croat and Serb victims. The two Presidents agreed on modalities for a future solution for refugee problems, ahead of a Donor Conference to be held by the end of this or beginning of next year. In 2011-2012, Serbia will preside over several regional initiatives Central European Initiative; SEE Cooperation Process; Adriatic-Ionian Initiative; Migration, Asylum and Refugee Regional Initiative and Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. We will strive to solve regional issues, while helping evaluate the relevance of some of those initiatives in a deeply transformed world since their inception. As a concrete example, let me bring to your attention a Serbian initiative developed with all Western Balkans countries without the EU prodding on, namely the common position on the post 2013 financial perspective. It is certainly unsettling that, apparently, the EU intends to allocate at most 1% of its future budget to enlargement and neighborhood
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issues, meaning that these topics are valued by EU countries at no more than 0,01% of their GDP. It is for Member States and the EU to settle that issue, starting this month. What we have put forward is, I believe, both innovative and realistic, as can be seen in the document that has been distributed to you. We propose, within the same financial envelope, a linear increase of IPA support for countries progressing well, instead of todays inefficient system giving insufficient resources to get ready for accession, followed by a ten times bigger and sudden glut of funds that cannot be absorbed after accession. Opening external action lines in structural and agricultural funds could serve the same purpose, focusing on pan European win-win projects in infrastructure, energy, environment, social inclusion. Furthermore, we propose that the Western Balkans enter the Economic Semester, getting as a positive incentive for sustainable public finances and pension systems a limited window of EU guarantees to tap capital markets. Finally, the very appealing macro regional Strategy of the EU for the Danube Region put together 14 countries as equal partners: Member States, those in the process of accession and neighbors. Serbia will take a coordinating role jointly with a Member State in two Priority Areas: Mobility and intermodality (rail, road and air) with Slovenia and Knowledge society with Slovakia. Third, we will push for a fruitful dialogue with Pristina Serbia opened the dialogue with Pristina under EU auspices, resolute to achieve concrete improvements in everyday life of all citizens. Open and flexible in our approach after four rounds, we can say that progress has been made in the areas of personal civil registries, cadastre, freedom of movement, telecommunications and electricity. We want to make progress on the customs stamp issue and representation in regional formats. Modest or not, this is real progress after so many years of tension and violence. We see the dialogue with Pristina as a beginning of a process that will end with reconciliation through a historical compromise between Serbs and Albanians. No unilateral solution is acceptable or sustainable. This is why Serbia will not recognize a unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo. But we dont want a frozen conflict. We want a mutually acceptable solution. We know that it must be found before we become an EU member. Pristina will need that compromise even more. And it will be in the interest of the EU. Fourth, we will preserve visa free travel for our citizens by reducing illegal migrations and requests for asylum In a year and a half since Serbia achieved a visa-free regime, more than six million border crossings have been made by Serbian citizens. According to EUROSTAT data, in 2010, some 17.700 Serbian citizens have been registered as asylum seekers in States of the Schengen Area, mostly in Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Luxembourg. More than 98 percent of the demands were rejected.
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The 40% decrease in numbers of asylum seekers from Serbia from December 2010 to April 2011is a result of common actions with the EU and Member States. We established the governmental Commission for monitoring the implementation of the visa free regime, we are consulting the European Commission on amendments to Serbian legislation to better prosecute organizers of groups of asylum seekers, we will restrict travel for those who abuse the system while respecting human rights, we conduct strict controls of passengers at border crossings and travel agencies, we conduct awareness raising campaigns targeting those groups that are recognized as potential asylum seekers, we implement further projects for the inclusion of the Roma community, etc. We welcome envisaged changes to the Schengen Area rules along the Return Directive, preventing offenders re-entering the Area for a period of up to five years, and we look forward to establishment of the Common European Asylum System. We will act in partnership with the EU and Member States, so as to preserve what is in the eyes of our citizens by far the most visible European achievement of Serbia. Fifth, we will push through a strong reform agenda Following the European Commissions Progress Report, the Serbian Government adopted an Action Plan on the implementation of its recommendations. Allow me to brief you on four major issues judiciary reform, fight against corruption and organized crime, reform of the electoral system, and the issue of restitution. A set of key judiciary laws was adopted in December 2010, in line with European standards and the Venice Commission recommendations. Permanent members of the High Judicial Council and the State Prosecutors Council were elected, as a key point in the process of re-examination of elections of judges and prosecutors for shortcomings that were pointed out both by our judges and the EU. The Minister of Justice was named as Coordinator for all activities in the fight against corruption. Our Police and Security structures have been actively participating in discovering and dismantling international and regional criminal groups resulting in numerous apprehensions and freezing of assets worth several hundred million euros in Serbia alone. The issue of the so-called blank resignations for MPs was for several years one of the most sensitive political issues in Serbia. Through amendments to our electoral system these have been abolished and, additionally, women will be guaranteed at least one third of the seats in our Parliament. A new Law on financing political activities in line with comments from the Venice Commission has been adopted this week. We will adopt during the Autumn session of our Parliament a long awaited law on restitution to affirm inviolability of private ownership, provide legal certainty to investors while preserving the stability of our public finances. Concrete proposals will undergo a wide public debate and be consulted with the EU.
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Sixth, we will do our best to improve the economic and social situation The crisis in Serbia is bottoming out, but unemployment and inflation remain high. We expect real GDP growth of 3% this year, mostly thanks to export growth, reaching a 31% year-on-year increase for the first quarter of 2011. On the positive side, our budget deficit is 4% and our sovereign debt 43% of GDP. As a result, Serbia is the only country in Europe that has been upgraded by S&P this year, our rating moving up to BB. Unemployment, at 19,2%, remains our biggest problem. Although the latest data offer some room for optimism, we conduct specific actions in order to combat poverty, which grew from 6,9% in 2009 to 9,2% of our citizens in 2010. Serbia continues to attract FDI, increasingly in manufacturing of tradable goods. Fiat will open a one billion euro investment in Kragujevac by year-end, producing over 250.000 cars annually. Automotive component makers, electronics producers, textile manufacturers increasingly pick Serbia as their investment destination. The Belgian firm Delhaize offered almost one million euros for the leading food retailer in our country. We are simplifying the business environment and building necessary infrastructure especially the Pan European road and rail Corridor X, several bridges on the Danube, and we have raised 400 million euros to invest in our science and technology infrastructure over the next three years. Mr. Chairperson, Distinguished MEPs, Excellencies, In conclusion, 2011 can indeed be a breakthrough year for Serbias and Western Balkans European integration. Serbia is on the move, despite the difficulties. We want to be assessed, like everybody else, on our merits. Provide us a level playing field and we will perform (almost) as well as our great tennis players. Getting a date for opening accession negotiations with the EU would be our national grand slam. We will spare no effort to get there. I am certain that we can count on the European Parliament to be a tough but fair partner along that path. It is always a great pleasure to be in your great institution. See you on September 9 in Belgrade for our first Serbia-EU Forum to measure progress and evaluate remaining challenges. I look forward to answering your questions. Thank you.