Europe Is Still Serbia’s Best Option, President Tadic Tells Business Leaders
Serbia’s future lies within the EU, if only because there is no better option, President Boris Tadićsaid in London, on Wednesday. “I am not that pro-European as it probably looks,’ he said. “Because of practical reasons, I don’t see any alternative.”
“From time to time I am faced with a challenge to explain why we are keeping that orientation in Serbia, even though the European Union is less attractive than a few years ago,’ said Tadić at The International Institute for Strategic Studies. “I try to explain to ordinary people that this is strategic orientation. This is not about Serbia tomorrow or after tomorrow, this is about Serbia in the next ten or twenty years. Today, tomorrow and in the future. That is very important. This is European integration, not only for Serbia but for all other regional countries.
Balkan States Could Make A Joint Bid For The Olympics, Says Tadic
The Balkan states could collectively host the Olympics in the not too distant future, if Serbia’s President Boris Tadić has his way. In an apparent flash of inspiration while visiting the London 2012 Olympic venues on Wednesday, the president came up with the idea as part of his greater plan to reunite the states of the former Yugoslavia. Maybe the idea is not as far-fetched as it might appear at first.
There are plenty of recent examples of countries working together to successfully host international sporting events. Spain and Portugal put in a combined bid for the World Cup 2018, alongside a bid from The Netherlands and Belgium, while Japan and Korea jointly hosted the football tournament in 2002, so why not bring together these ex-YU stable-mates to hold this sporting opus across the Balkans.
Reconciliation is a Moral Duty & Protects The Dignity Of Serbs, Tadic Says
Serbia had a moral obligation to hand over fugitives to the Hague, President Boris Tadić said at a meeting in London. He also explained his recent reconciliatory moves for acts committed during the 1990s as necessary to protect the dignity of Serbs and establish a relationship of trust in the region.
“We have tried to develop a new trust with our neighbours,’ said Tadić. “Arresting Ratko Mladić and Hadzić was, in my view, a moral necessity for Serbia and an essential step in building that trust. That was a high risk operation, very difficult for us, but we did it. We didn’t do that in terms of the European Union or because of conditions of integration. We did it because of ourselves. Because of Bosniaks, Croats, Albanians. Because of our moral duty. Because of what happened in history and what we expect in the future.
Tadic Remains Positive As Serbia Looks To The Good Friday Agreement For Kosovo Solution
Belgrade and Priština could learn from the Good Friday Agreement, Serbia’s President Boris Tadić has said. His words came after a “constructive discussion” with British Prime Minister David Cameron, where the issue of Kosovo was discussed. “We can find a solution,’ Tadić said. “This is really possible.”
During a meeting in London, the President said: “I have looked at a variety of arrangements. People talk about the two Germanys model, the example of Sweden and Finland over the Öland Islands, and I am particularly interested in the Good Friday Agreement and the subsequent declarations between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. You have a great deal of experience because of this issue. You have also had to work through patient diplomacy and the politics of striking a difficult compromise.
