At an earlier invitation by the Foreign Affairs Committee members, Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic outlined the country’s main foreign policy goals at the sitting held on 11 December. The sitting was chaired by Prof. Dr Dragoljub Micunovic.

Minister Jeremic stressed that 2008 has been marked by great foreign policy activities due to Serbia going through an attempted secession by the temporary Kosovo institutions. As a result of it, protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity is Serbia’s absolute political priority.

Jeremic said that the Government had decided to transfer the issue of Kosovo-Metohija’s status onto the international legal terrain and requested the legal opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of Kosovo-Metohija’s unilaterally declared independence. Serbia expects that the Court ruling will be positive and that it will prevent Kosovo-Metohija being recognised by other countries.

Minister Jeremic pointed out that Serbia’s accession to the European Union remains a priority with the Government and estimated that Serbia’s European route in the future will depend on the development of the situation in the Union itself, and that the only political condition Serbia has to fulfill is full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. Regarding this, he said that there is absolute political will in the Government to complete the cooperation, and that all means are employed towards that end.

The Minister also expressed his belief that visas for Serbian citizens travelling into EU countries will be abolished next year. Cooperation with neighbouring countries of the region is also among the foreign policy goals.

At the deputies’ question whether Serbia would discontinue further European integration if it were confronted with the condition of recognising Kosovo-Metohija independence, Jeremic responded that he does not believe the EU would set such a condition. He said that five Union member countries do not support the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo-Metohija, and that if such a conditioning were to occur, Serbia would have no alternative but to refuse European integration.

Several other questions had been posed in the discussion, above all concerning relations with Croatia. Minister Jeremic said that the Government filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice only after the political possibility that Croatia might drop its suit against Serbia for genocide before the court had disappeared.

The Committee accepted the invitation to participate in the meetings of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Political Affairs and Monitoring Committees, held in Paris on 16 and 17 December.

In addition, the Slovakian Parliament’s initiative for an exchange of delegations was also accepted.

The Committee adopted several reports on realised visits and contacts by the deputies with parliamentarians and diplomatic representatives of other countries.