Commissioner Rehn to visit Belgrade and Podgorica

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A few days after the Commission approved a Feasibility Report confirming that sufficient progress has been reached to open negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) for Serbia and Montenegro, Commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn, will visit Belgrade and Podgorica from 18 to 19 April 2005. During his time there, the Commissioner will welcome the progress that has been made so far and will encourage Serbia and Montenegro to continue this trend in both the political and economic fields. He will reiterate to the authorities that sustained improvements in cooperation with the UN-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) are the cornerstone for progress along the road to Europe.

On the eve of his visit Olli Rehn said: "It is my pleasure to bring the good news about the European Commission's decision personally to Belgrade and Podgorica. Serbia and Montenegro has achieved a great deal of work over the past years and it is time to move on. However, this is no time to lie down and relax, on the contrary. I welcome the agreement on the Constitutional Charter, which ensures the legitimacy of the State Union Parliament. I am glad that Serbia and Montenegro has finally made significant progress in co-operating with the Hague Tribunal. This trend must continue and be reinforced until none of the remaining indictees is still at large. Accession negotiations proper cannot even be considered until the country has achieved full co-operation with ICTY."

On the first day of the visit on 18 April in Belgrade, Olli Rehn will meet the State Union President Svetozar Marovic, Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic, Serbian President Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica. He will meet the Council for European Integration at the Federal Palace, followed at approx 13h00 by a joint press conference. The Commissioner will also have an opportunity to meet Patriarch Pavle of the Serbian Orthodox Church and to visit the cathedral. He will also meet representatives of civil society and at 17h00 he will deliver a speech at the University of Belgrade.

In Podgorica on April 19, Commissioner Rehn will have meetings with President Filip Vujanovic, Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, and with the Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament, Ranko Krivokapic. Olli Rehn will also have a discussion with the Minister of International Economic Relations and European Integration, Ms Gordana Djurovic, in the company of key ministers involved in the process of European Integration. At noon he will deliver a speech at the Podgorica University. During the afternoon he will visit a project of the European Agency for Reconstruction at the Human Resource Agency and Judicial Training centre.

For further information see:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/see/index.htm

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