Serbian president meets with Barroso

Serbian president meets with Barroso

BELGRADE -- Tomislav Nikolić and Jose Manuel Barroso have concluded that Serbia and the EU hold different views on world events "in some 50 percent of the cases."

The Serbian president told a joint news conference he held in Belgrade with the president of the European Commission that he "explained the position of Serbia on any specific point of disagreement, even where we have an agreement on common policy."

"We will consider if we perhaps missed to have identical positions somewhere... Serbia is a country that has its own policy and we wish to fit this policy into the interests of all citizens of Serbia and in a much broader policy," said Nikolić.

Nikolić said that he discussed chapters 23 and 24, regarding the fight against corruption and crime, and public administration reform and added that they also discussed relations with the administration of Priština, what has been achieved so far and what is yet to be achieved, and the conditions of implementation of the Brussels agreement.

According to him, the meeting was open, and that during it, "positions that are the same, as well as those that could be the subject of discussion in order to find a common path" were noted.

Serbia, Nikolić said, has its own policy that should be conducted in accordance with the interests of the citizens, it has "friends in the north and the east and the west and the south," but added that it was "necessary to fit this policy into a broader policy."

Barroso said he believes that, "if there is political will on both sides," Serbia can join the EU.

Nikolić thanked him for the efforts and support given by Serbia on its path towards the EU and said that...