Serbia likely to receive EU candidate status in 13 months

EU candidate status could be granted in December 2011, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic told a press conference after a meeting of the EU integration committee on Monday (November 1st). He added that on November 24th, the European Commission (EC) will send a form containing between 4,000 and 5,000 questions, aimed at determining how well Serbia has met the conditions for EU membership. The government will send its responses by the end of the first quarter, after which the EC will prepare an official opinion on Serbia’s candidacy and will release it about a year from now. Then, it will be up to the EU Council, depending on the EC opinion, to decide whether to grant candidate status to Serbia.