Serbia expects to apply for European Union membership early next year with an eye to full membership by 2014 or 2015, President Boris Tadic said in an interview today.
"At the beginning of next year, this is my expectation," Mr Tadic said when asked when Serbia would apply for EU membership. "I am expecting in the middle of next year we are going to achieve candidate status."
After Serbia's isolation during the 1990s wars in the former Yugoslavia, Mr Tadic has strongly backed closer integration with the European Union as the country's path to economic prosperity.
Earlier this month its parliament ratified a pre-membership pact with the EU, but the EU has held back on granting trade benefits from that deal amid Dutch calls for Serbia to capture former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic.
"I expected it was going to be adopted by EU forums a few weeks ago but unfortunately my European partners refused to do that because of the Netherlands' approach," Tadic told Reuters.
"I am expecting that by the end of this year we will implement the interim agreement and after that candidate status and after that open negotiations for full membership."
Reuters