Belgrade: Serbia has now signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA); it will enter the EU within four years, stated the Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Delic yesterday.
Speaking at a press conference at government headquarters, Delic said, “The signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) is a first-class act of patriotism by those who were in Luxembourg yesterday.”

He said, “this is only a very important stop for our country on its way towards the EU,” and that “the full and practical application of the agreement lies in the hands of Serbian citizens, who will decide on May 11 at the elections.”

According to Delic, Tuesday had been a crucial moment for Serbia, which had “crossed the Rubicon,” and that the signing of the SAA was an act of supreme patriotism. Signing the SAA, Serbia “has sealed its European future,” and obtained significant commercial privileges in the field of investments and export. The first direct consequence of the signing of the agreement had been the memorandum on a strategic partnership between Fiat and Kragujevac’s Zastava signed today in Belgrade.

Delic revealed that Serbia is guaranteed an annual sugar export quota of 180,000 tons, as well as an annual beef export quota of 8,700 tons. For the first time, Serbia had received a quota guarantees for the export of wine to the EU of 63,000 hectoliters per year, while the fishing industry would receive further support with a quota guarantee for the export of 15 tonnes of trout and 60 tonnes of carp per year.

Delic said, “The agreement is an element of key importance for stability for all those who plan to invest in Serbia because it guarantees long-term economic stability. It (SAA) will fully respect Serbia’s territorial integrity, as guaranteed by article 135 of the agreement.”