The session of the European Integrations Committee held on 30 November 2005 saw the presentation of the Fourth Report of the Government of the Republic of Serbia on the Implementation of the Action Plan for the Realisation of European Partnership Priorities.

The fourth quarterly report was presented by the Deputy Prime Minister, Miroljub Labus. He told the Committee that the Report outlined tasks that were to be implemented by 14 ministries, adding that a lot had been achieved both on the economic and the political plane, that the Action Plan for 2006 was to be revised by mid-December, and that it is expected to be adopted by the Council of Ministers of the European Union.
Mr Labus announced that the second round of negotiations on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU would be held on 20 and 21 December. The meetings would focus on freedom of movement of agricultural produce and industrial goods.
The deputies showed most interest in whether co-operation with the Hague Tribunal and the start of negotiations on the status of Kosovo and Metohia would affect the negotiations on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Mr Labus said that a visit by the Chief Prosecutor of the Hague Tribunal, Carla Del Ponte, was expected on 12 December. After meeting Serbian authorities, she is to prepare her final report on Serbia’s co-operation with the Tribunal and present it to the UN Security Council.

Referring to negotiations on the status of Kosovo and Metohia, Mr Labus said that one negotiation process was bound to affect the other, as well as that Belgrade’s negotiating team would have greater chances if it spoke with only one voice; however, according to Mr Labus, the team remains silent.
Answering questions on the easing of visa restrictions, the Deputy Prime Minister said that they are expected to be lifted in March 2006.
The Committee’s chairperson, Ksenija Milivojevic, invited the deputies to take part in talks with a delegation of the European Parliament that is to visit the National Assembly on 6 December 2005.

The session was chaired by the Committee’s chairperson, Ksenija Milivojevic, and attended by the Director of the EU Integration Office, Tanja Miscevic, the Secretary General of the European Movement in Serbia, Danijel Pantic, as well as officials of the Standing Conference of Cities and Municipalities, the European Commission’s Delegation to Serbia and Montenegro, and the Embassy of Great Britain.