Unacceptable for region to join EU as one package - Dacic

Foreign Minister and First Deputy PM Ivica Dacic says the idea of the whole region joining the EU "as one package" is unacceptable to Serbia.

Speaking late on Tuesday in Brussels, Dacic pointed out that "everyone should advance at the speed that they deserve."

Dacic told reporters, after a meeting of foreign ministers of EU member-state and candidate countries, that the decision to open new chapters in membership negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro was welcomed - but that there was a danger of EU members "not wanting to recognize that these two countries are leaders in European integration."

"There is a danger that now there is a little bit of a desire to avoid emphasizing that Serbia and Montenegro are leaders in the process of EU accession, instead that the whole region should be in one package. That would not be acceptable to us, because our position is that everyone should go to the EU at the speed they deserve, i.e. at the speed that tells which criteria has been met," he said.

The head of Serbian diplomacy said that the meeting had positive tones when it comes to the idea of enlargement - "there were no disputes nor remarks that could be heard."

Dacic assessed that the conclusion was that the meeting had a positive message, which is to prepare a strategy for Serbia's and Montenegro's EU accession.

"Today, there was talk about the enlargement policy - but as there is enlargement fatigue in the EU, so there is fatigue with us from the constant delays in moving closer to the EU. When a relationship between these 'two fatigues' is created, I think it is after all very positive for the entire EU and the region, and that is a 'win-win' combination for the EU and the region of the Western Balkans," Dacic said.