ForMin: Serbia's path to EU sure after Hadzic's arrest

Prague, July 25 (CTK) - Serbia's path to the European Union (EU) is sure now after the arrest of Goran Hadzic, former leader of Croat Serbs, but it may still be long, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said Monday after a meeting with his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic.

Schwarzenberg congratulated his Serbian colleague on Hadzic's arrest, which was the last demand by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) that prevented Serbia's EU entry.

After a debate on Serbia's European prospect, Schwarzenberg and Jeremic discussed bilateral trade, in particular Czech investments in Serbia and opportunities for Serbian firms in the Czech Republic.

Hadzic is charged with war crimes that he allegedly committed during the war in Croatia in 1991-1993.

After Monday's meeting with Schwarzenberg, Jeremic stressed that Serbia would like to keep working hard to fulfil the goals connected with its European integration.

He said he hopes that Serbia would gain the status of an EU candidate country at the end of this year and it would launch the accession talks.

"However, there are certain things that Serbia cannot do. One of them is to change our constitutional view of Kosovo," Jeremic said.

Serbia still considers Kosovo its province though a number of Western countries, including the Czech Republic, have recognised Kosovo's independence.

Jeremic said the Serbian stance on Kosovo expressed a clear majority opinion of Serbian citizens that the government must democratically acknowledge.

This is why Serbia is striving for the debate on Kosovo's future to be separated from the talks on Serbia's EU accession for the time being, Jeremic added.