Serbia’s EU progress hailed by Brussels

Bozidar Djelic started a two-day visit to Brussels on Monday to lobby for Serbia in the run-up to the expected publication of a European Commission “opinion”, or “avis” on Serbia’s possible candidate status.

After meeting Enlargement Commissioner Fuele, Djelic said Fuele had especially commended Serbia’s good results in reforming justice, fighting corruption and in adopting key laws on the restitution of property and on public property.

“We are making additional efforts to get a date set for the start of membership negotiations included in the EC opinion but this is quite difficult at the moment,” Djelic said.

Following the arrest of Serbia’s last two remaining war crime fugitives, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, Serbia’s ruling Democrats have been counting on obtaining EU candidate status and a date for a start to membership talks this year.

Getting EU candidae state is the main potential ace on in the hands of Boris Tadic’s centrist Democrats in general elections due in spring 2012.