Serbia's EU Candidacy in Jeopardy Unless Dialogue Resumes

"We expect to see progress in the dialogue already by mid-February," a source close to the German mission to the EU told Tanjug. If that is not the case, Germany will not be able to support Serbia's candidacy at the end of the month, the source added.

EU foreign ministers will meet on the last day of February to debate whether Serbia has met the conditions that were put before the country by the European Council late last year. Their decision is then set to be approved by EU leaders at the beginning of March.

The conditions include progress in dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and reaching an agreement on the representation of Kosovo in regional forums.

However, the dialogue has been suspended for more than two months as the two sides have been unable to reach agreement on whether Kosovo should be represented in regional talks with a reference to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244.

Other diplomatic sources also say that Serbia is unlikely to get candidate status if an agreement on representation is not reached.

Serbia is doing everything at the last moment, which is met with disapproval in Brussels, a senior European Commission official in charge of Balkans-related issues told Tanjug. The official said that this approach undermined mutual trust between the EU and Serbia.

According to the Brussels diplomat, the conditions laid before Serbia by the Council were very clear and explicitly stated.

If Serbia fails to meet the conditions, even the countries that do not share Germany's opinion will not be able to insist on granting Serbia candidate status, the official cautioned.

The sources hinted that if Serbia did not get candidate status by the end of February or early March, the question would probably not be debated prior to an EU summit in December.

Borislav Stefanovic, Serbia's chief coordinator in Kosovo talks, declared that Belgrade is pressing for the continuation of dialogue with Kosovo and providing new solutions while "Pristina is stalling with the negotiations".

"We do not want to wait for the last moment (to reach an agreement) and it is positive that the entire international community sees that Serbia is very constructive and has put forth new solutions and propositions," Stefanovic told reporters on Tuesday.