Serbia has to assess its strength by April 2

Dacic underlined that Serbia wants to get a date for the beginning of the EU accession talks in order to change its geopolitical and geostrategic position which, as he put it, is not easy because it has no one in the region to turn to for help. “Our friends are far away to make plans about joining other unions with them when Serbia is surrounded by the EU and NATO and has no friends in this part of the world,” the prime minister said. “We want an agreement and compromise, but in order to reach that there has to be the minimum if not the maximum of fairness on all sides,” he pointed out. When asked what will happen if Belgrade gets the same offer as on March 20, Dacic said that in this case it will be difficult to reach an agreement. Dacic reiterated that Serbia insists on the association of Serb municipalities in Kosovo-Metohija which will have a certain role, adding that solutions cannot be searched for in standard forms. He added that EU High Representative Catherine Ashton wants the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue to end before she submits the report on April 16. The prime minister underlined that there is no more time, adding that if no compromise is reached by April 16, Serbia will have to wait for one year to continue the EU integration process. He said that the issue of Kosovo needs to be resolved as soon as possible, separately from the EU integration process. Dacic laid a wreath at a memorial on Strazevica Hill in Belgrade on Sunday on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of the NATO bombing campaign against Serbia, i.e. the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). Photo Tanjug video Change of PM would mean election of new government The government reshuffle has not been officially discussed, and the change of the prime minister would mean the election of a new government, Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said on Sunday. The prime minister said that he has not conferred on the government reshuffle with First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, particularly not at the moment when the talks on Kosovo, as the most important state and national issue, are under way. “Vucic and I have been dealing with the key state and national issues and in the meantime dozens of media reports on the government reshuffle have appeared coming from both other and our parties,” Dacic said. Dacic, leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), underlined that the press releases about the change of the prime minister and the government reshuffle have nothing to do with Vucic, leader of the largest coalitional party - Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), adding that at the moment the issue of the government's legitimacy is not considered. “Vucic and I have not parted in a single issue, and it is crucial that the SNS, as the largest party, and the SPS, as the pillar of the government, see eye to eye in terms of Kosovo and the EU. We have nothing to object to one another,” the prime minister said.