Deniau: Dates closer, depends on agreements

The dialogue on the political level so far produced positive results, Deniau told reporters during a break at the final meeting within the twinning project on adjustment of Serbia's judiciary in the sector of transport to relevant EU laws. The meeting between Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, Kosovo Prime Minister Hasim Taci and High EU Representative Catherine Ashton in Brussels on Tuesday made room for talks on very important matters concerning Serbian institutions in Kosovo, with a strong intention for the participants in the meeting to meet again in early March with a view to making some progress on the issue. The French ambassador qualified this as positive since the two sides are discussing issues which were not even viewed as a matter of consideration several months ago. According to him, it is positive that the government insists on matters important for the everyday life of Serbs in Kosovo. When asked by reporters whether Serbia is now closer to getting the date of initiation of EU accession talks, Deniau replied that in his opinion it is, but he added that everyone should wait and see first what tangible results the dialogue would produce and whether these would be carried out. Recalling that the European Commission should present the report on Serbia's progress in April while the EU Council of Ministers would adopt the decision on the date in late June, Deniau stated that there is enough time to achieve and implement agreements and that this is just a matter of political will.