EU ‘Eyes Serbia Candidate Status for 2009’

Belgrade _ The EU has signaled Belgrade to apply for membership of the bloc in October, meaning Serbia could get candidate status by mid-2009, a daily reports.

Belgrade however eyes the end of this year as the date for achieving European Union candidate status.

“(EU Enlargement) Commissioner (Olli) Rehn is well acquainted with EU procedures but out of diplomatic courtesy he did not want to deny his Serb colleagues when they mention the end of 2008 as the targeted date,” Novi Sad daily Dnevnik quoted a source close to Rehn as saying.

“But”, the source added, “he (Rehn) will also like Serbia to become an EU candidate before his mandate ends in autumn next year.”

The source also said that a pre-condition for achieving the candidate status is the implementation of the Interim Trade Agreement with the EU which in turn depends on Serbia’s full cooperation with The Hague war crimes tribunal.

“The EU believes that when Serbia becomes an EU candidate it will be more cooperative regarding Kosovo and particularly over the EU’s EULEX mission there,” a Swedish diplomat told the daily.

Belgrade has vowed never to recognise Kosovo’s February 17 declaration of independence and has opposes the EU’s law and order EULEX mission there, arguing it seeks to formalise Kosovo’s independence.

The UN is due to leave Kosovo in the coming ways allowing EULEX to become the main international presence there.

The report comes on the day when Serbia's parliament is set to vote in a new pro-European government following the May 11 elections.