Interview with Christina Gallach and Emma Udwin, 2004, www.seetv-exchanges.com

ITEM 1: NEWSPACKAGE

Cutaways: Ms.Gallach in her office,the European Council headquarters in Brussels

10:01:02
Well, it is good news that we have a government after such a long time of provisionality, so to speak.Whether the government is going to produce good news or not, that we don't know yet, but we really expect that this government will continue and will be firmly engaged in the path of reforms and in the path of pro-European policies.If this is the case, we have no doubt that this government is going to produce good news. We are ready to engage very strongly with the Prime Minister with the government, Mister Solana is seeking for a moment when he can meet very soon Prime Minister Kostunica and his Ministers and we are looking forward towards the execution of a clearly pro-European policy from the new leadership in Serbia.

10:01:59
Governments are always judged by what they do, the activities, the policies they pursue and for us, four lines of policies are essential: first of all, pro-European policies in the sense of pro-reforms, political and economic. We want very much to pursue a policy of good neighbourly relations. Serbia, it's a key part of the Balkans,therefore,the good relations of Serbia with the rest of the Balkan countries, is essential. Then,we want to see full cooperation with international organisations, international institutions, including the ICTY Tribunal in the Hague and, fourthly, we want very much to see a full engagement of the Serbian government in the process of having clear benchmarks towards the EU. We are ready to engage very seriously in this path with them if this is the case of the engagement of the Serbian authorities.

10:03:10
It is true,there were some statements along the lines of cantonalisation of Kosovo. I would like to state very clearly: this is not the policy of the EU. The policy of the EU at this very moment is to ensure that the benchmarks that have clearly been identified by UNMIK, by the Kosovar authorities, by the authorities in Belgrade, are realised.And, in the process of the realisation of these benchmarks, we are going to see the process of, as well, of getting a clarification of how the Kosovo territory can be governed.And at the same time, we are going to be able to enter, sometime next year, into another analysis which is going to be the analysis of their status, but only if the process of the standards has been fulfilled .
We have tried very much to establish contacts as soon as possible, in fact, you know this period of time there have been regular contacts with the provisional authorities,with the political leaders, no doubt about that, and very important, we have had constant contacts with the president of Serbia and Montenegro, because the strengthening of the state union is for the EU very important. But, going back to the preliminary question, we seek, Mr.Solana seeks to meet as soon as possible Prime Minister Kostunica, it is a matter of fixing in the agenda when it is most appropriate and when it is going to be able this meeting to take place but we hope very much, very soon, in any case,in the incoming days; the maximum- in the incoming weeks.

10:05:00
The tragedy of the death of the President of Macedonia and several people that accompanied him is that, it is a tragedy but it is not a crisis, and it would be very important that everybody thinks and knows that we are convinced that we do not consider there is a political crisis, an institutional crisis in Macedonia. When Mr. Solana visited Macedonia last week, he met with all the political leaders, in particularly the Prime Minister, he was very reassured by everybody that unity and responsibility were the two key words in the current circumstances. Therefore, Macedonia is going through a process of difficulties, because they have lost a very good President, they have lost somebody that has done a great deal for the stabilisation of the country and for the stabilisation of the region, but we saw the political leaders, in particular the members of the coalition, very committed to the process of, first, engagement with the EU, continuation of the process of getting closer to the EU, in fact, ready to submit the application very soon, as soon as the current transition, so to speak, is finalised, they are ready to hand this application and,very much, as well, ready to prepare for re-elections, as it is foreseen in the consitution, so that the current institutional provisionality is overcome very soon.

10:06:38
We think so, we think that, considering that the constitution speaks about a period of fourteen days and with a degree of responsibility, that the political leaders, the Prime Minister, the members of the coalition have shown, we think that we should have an election process which is clearly directed towards an election of a new president. Macedonia has gone through great difficulties but it is not the case any longer. Stability was very much acquired and the energy to push the country towards the EU is there and the EU is ready to continue supporting this process,therefore, we are also ready to support them in electoral preparations, so that elections can take place and the finalisation fo the implementation of the Ohrid program and entering into a new phase after the presentation of the accession request that is going to happen sometime soon.

Cutaway shots of the European Commission Charlemagne and Breydel headquarters in Brussels

10:09:39
We aren't setting any dates at the moment.We do think it is reasonable to allow the new authorities to get their feet under the table and get down to work, and we need to see what is meant by the new program that's been announced. So there aren't any fixed dates, there weren't actually before, by the way, some people had gotten into the habit of thinking the study was due for March but we'd never set a date. We'll have to see how long it takes.

10:10:04
At the end of March, two things will happen: it's the time of the year where we are fixing our spending programs, not just in Serbia and Montenegro, but also there, so we will be making some proposals for our financial assistance to the country.
Also, it's the time of the year where we have traditionally issued our annual reports on the countries of the Western Balkans,so, there will be an assessment,as there have been in past years of Serbia, Montenegro and its neighbours, and also for the first time, European partnerships, these will be documents that prioritise what each country has to do next. What Serbia and Montenegro needs to do in the coming year and in the coming two to three years.

10:10:44
The Stabilisation and Association Process, the relationship that we have with Serbia and Montenegro is based on a certain number of shared objectives and values. That goes for the political relationship and the whole of the relationship. Those values include democracy,human rights,the way you treat your ethnic minorities and respect for the rule of law and that, of course, includes respect for your international obligations and that means coompliance with the Hague. Now, those who want to move along the path to European intergration, cannot pick and chose between those objectives and those values. If you want to get closer to Europe, it has to be all of those, it has to be all of those and that includes the Hague. Will we be, therefore, penalizing Serbia and Montengro that needs financial assistance at present, I don't expect so,we'll have to see what happens, I don't expect so, but, remember, there is political conditionality as well. If you want a closer relationship with Europe, it means signing up to all those shared objectives and values, including compliance with the Hague. Without that, we can't move as far and as fast as we would like to.

10:12:06
There are different ways of insisting on certain conditions when you have a relationship;we have a relationship with Serbia and Montenegro and other countries in the region which has a financial component, and has a political component. Now, we feel very strongly about compliance with the Hague, it is a priority, but you shouldn't assume that the only way we can make our feelings known is by withdrawing funding. We have a political relationship, based on a certain number of priorities, objectives and values and they include compliance with the Hague. For those who want to look forward to a closer relationship with Europe and if Serbia and Montenegro wants to move forward to a closer relationship with Europe, it has to embrace the shared objectives and values that are set out in our partnership and it can't pick and choose between them.