By RIA Novosti,
Belgrade : A Serbian prime ministerial candidate has told parliament that one of the priorities of the country’s new government will be to secure entry into the European Union.
Serbian MPs are expected to vote on Monday for a new government to be headed by Mirko Cvetkovic – a 58-year-old former finance minister. Cvetkovic will head a pro-Western coalition bringing together the liberal Democratic Party and the Socialist Party.
“The first step of the new government will be to ratify a Stabilization and Association agreement with the European Union,” Cvetkovic said.
Cvetkovic was nominated by President Boris Tadic, the head of the Democrats, in late June.
The government’s action plan, according to Cvetkovic, will also touch upon Kosovo, calling for the ‘world’s newest state’ to remain a part of Serbia. It will also concern itself with the strengthening of the economic and social sphere, the fight against corruption and crime, and the fulfillment of international commitments.
Cvetkovic also said one of the priorities of the action plan would be the expansion of economic and political ties with Russia, including the ratification of a gas agreement with Russian energy giant Gazprom.
On January 25, Russia and Serbia signed an oil and gas agreement envisioning, as part of the South Stream project, a joint construction of a 400-km section of the Russian gas pipeline via Serbia, and a construction of an underground storage facility.
The South Stream project is expected to transport 10 billion cu m of Russian gas annually across the Black Sea to the Balkans and onto other European countries, with the first deliveries scheduled to start in 2013.
Serbia’s previous government collapsed early in March when nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said he refused to govern alongside the Democratic Party after it insisted on pursuing EU membership, despite the majority of EU states’ having recognized Kosovo’s independence.
The Democrats emerged as the largest party in the May 11 elections, but failed to achieve a majority in parliament. They were forced to seek a coalition with the Socialist Party and a number of other smaller parties.