Belgrade, April 30, 2010

SERBIA – CHINA / EXPO 2010 IN SHANGHAI

JEREMIC & JIECHI: JOINT STANCE ON KOSOVO-METOHIJA ISSUE
BELGRADE, 29 April (Tanjug) - Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said after talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi that Beijing will continue to support Serbia in its struggle to defend its territorial integrity.Jeremic, who is visiting China, stated that they discussed the issue of Kosovo-Metohija in order to harmonise a joint stand at an international level. This relates above all to the UN but also other international organisations which Pristina authorities might attempt to join, a right that belongs only to sovereign countries, said Jeremic. China is one of the most influential countries in the world today and support from Beijing is invaluable. It is a great encouragement for Serbia to continue its efforts to preserve its sovereignty, he said. He said that he talked with Jiechi about intensifying economic cooperation, primarily in infrastructure investment in Serbia in the transport and energy sectors. New joint projects can be expected in the future, he said. We are pleased with the fact that of all the countries in the Balkans we have very special relations with China, based on a strategic partnership agreement, which was signed last year during a visit by President Tadic to China, concluded Jeremic.

JEREMIC AT THE PROMOTION OF THE SERBIAN PAVILION ON THE EXPO 2010
BELGRADE, 30 April (Tanjug) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says in a statement that Jeremic will attend the opening of the EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, as well as the promotion of the Serbian pavilion at this international show.

SERBIA / EU-WESTERN BALKANS CONFERENCE IN SARAJEVO ON JUNE 2

STEFANOVIC: IN SARAJEVO, ONLY WITH PRISTINA'S ASYMMETRIC PRESENCE
BELGRADE, April 29 (Tanjug) - Foreign Ministry Political Director Borko Stefanovic said that Serbia will participate in the EU-West Balkans conference in Sarajevo on June 2 only on the condition that the conference organizers ensure asymmetric elements for the delegation of Pristina and respect UN SC Res 1244, as Belgrade hopes. Stefanovic told that this requirement can be fulfilled by using the so-called Gymnich formula. "If the delegation of the interim government in Kosovo should come to Sarajevo as expected, it will be asymmetrical because it will be accompanied by the UNMIK Chief who would speak before the delegation of Kosovo's interim institutions," Stefanovic said. According to him, another asymmetric element will be the presence of representatives of other international organizations at the sitting, which will put additional stress on the fact that country representatives are not the only participants at the meeting. "At this point it is still uncertain whether the delegation of the interim bodies in Pristina will come to Sarajevo, but we feel encouraged by the signals (coming from Sarajevo) and by the fact that Resolution 1244 will be observed and that the asymmetric presence of the Kosovo delegation is guaranteed," he said.The names written on the plates before the participants in the conference will be the personal names of the members of the delegations, rather that the names of the country or the organization they represent, as envisaged by the Gymnich formula. "Our stand is clear: Kosovo cannot participate in any gathering without UNMIK, because that would violate Res 1244," he reiterated. The EU foreign ministers sometimes resort to the Gymnich formula at informal meetings where certain problems are discussed without making any formal conclusions. First such meeting was held in 1974, at the Gymnich castle in the western part of the then Federal Republic of Germany.

XHAVIT BEQIRI: EQUAL PRESENTATION OF PARTICIPANTS IN SARAJEVO
PRISTINA, April 29 (Beta) - Spokesman to the Kosovo president Xhavit Beqiri stated that the Kosovo institutions find that participating in the June summit on the Western Balkans in Sarajevo is acceptable, so long as the participants are presented in an equal manner. "If there are state symbols and flags, then these should include Kosovo's symbols. If representatives of countries are presented only by their names, that is also acceptable for Kosovo. The only condition is to present all countries equally," Beqiri told in Pristina. Commenting on the potential participation of the UNMIK chief or EU representatives in Kosovo, Beqiri said that only representatives of Kosovo institutions can speak on its behalf. After visiting Belgrade and Pristina, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that both sides find acceptable participation based on a model according to which only the name of the summit participant would be stated. Frattini's proposal was supported by officials in Belgrade and Pristina, but Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said that, without UNMIK's participation, there can be no participation by Kosovo in the gathering in Sarajevo.

DE PALACIO ESPANA: EVERYONE SHOULD ATTEND SARAJEVO MEETING
BELGRADE, April 29 (Tanjug) - Spanish Ambassador to Serbia Inigo de Palacio Espana said that it is in everyone's interest that all the countries and important factors in the Western Balkan region attend the EU-Western Balkans conference in Sarajevo on June 2, adding that Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has played a remarkable role in supporting the initiative. All the countries of the EU and the region want to be constructive and enable the conference to take place, the ambassador told, adding that he thinks there is room for optimism on the issue. He did not wish to talk about the details of a potential agreement regarding the organization of the conference, but credited Frattini for supporting the whole initiative during his visit to the region. Russel Geekie, spokesperson for the UNMIK, stated that the UN mission wishes for all parties to attend the conference. Geekie was also reluctant to comment on the possibility that the conference participants might be represented by their own names instead of their countries'. Geekie stated that he cannot comment if the meeting would be in accordance with UN SC Res 1244 in that case and if UNMIK's presence there would be required, adding that it is a question for the organizers.

KOUCHNER URGES BELGRADE AND PRISTINA TO TALK
BELGRADE, April 30 (Tanjug) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, former chief of the U.N. civil mission in Kosovo, has stated that Serbia's place is in the EU and that the country's EU integration is not conditioned by Kosovo's recognition. He called on the two sides to have a dialogue, underscoring that he had never advised Belgrade not to appeal to the International Court in The Hague. There are no special prerequisites for Serbia to join the EU, but I do not believe that it would be possible with Kosovo as an internal problem of Serbia, Kouchner said in a statement published by Novosti. When asked when he would discuss with European ministers Serbia's candidacy for the membership in the Union and the resumption of the process of its EU integrations, Kouchner said that this would be done when the issue gets included in the agenda. Whatever the case, it is very clear to me that Serbia should be part of the EU, as a full member, said Kouchner. When asked whether he sees Serbia and Kosovo together in the EU, Kouchner replied: "One day, yes," adding that one should hope that Serbia and Kosovo will participate together in the upcoming conference on the Western Balkans in Sarajevo. Minister Kouchner also denied discouraging Belgrade to appeal to the ICJ, underscoring that an ICJ decision on Kosovo's status and a decision of the EU on Serbia's candidate status are not related. He also said that it was not good that the Kosovo authorities had decided to remove the transmitters of the Serbian mobile telephony operators from the north of Kosovo. "I don't want to make moral evaluations and interfere in internal affairs, but people have to have the right to use telephones. They will, perhaps, replace them with Kosovo transmitters," Kouchner also said.

KOSOVO – METOHIJA

PACIFIC ISLAND RECOGNIZES KOSOVO
PRISTINA, 29 April (Tanjug) - The Pacific island of Vanuatu has decided to recognize the Kosovo Albanian unilateral declaration of independence, said reports.They quoted ethnic AKR party in Priština. Party representative Mimoza Kusari Ljilja told a news conference in Priština on Wednesday that that this was "the 67th UN member state that recognized Kosovo", and said the party was instrumental as Vanuatu made its decision. The party handed out copies of a letter sent by Vanuatu's foreing minister, named as Joe Natum, that "confirms the recognition of Kosovo".

ROGOZIN: INDEPEND. KOSOVO IS A "BANDIT CREATION" THAT CANNOT SURVIVE
BELGRADE, April 29 (Tanjug) - Permanent Russian representative with NATO Dmitry Rogozin said in Belgrade that independent Kosovo is a "bandit creation" that cannot survive and expressed belief that Serbia will reclaim its rights in that territory. Kosovo is Serbia, emphasized Rogozin, at a conference in the Russian House. Rogozin added that some countries, mostly NATO members, lately took to disputing the right of the UN to decide on issues related to international law. Skeptics who doubt the UN and SC are mostly among the ranks of NATO, Rogozin pointed out. The truth is that UN recognizes two principles - the right to self-determination and principle of respecting the territorial integrity. However, the latter is more important, while the recognition of independence of a people in the territory of some country is only possible in case of that people being systematically exposed to genocide, underlined Rogozin. The NATO bombing of the FR Yugoslavia in 1999 was a war against the memory of a great victory of the anti-Fascist coalition in WWII, he said, while recalling that it was the first time the Alliance stepped out the authorizations and used force without the approval of UN.

MATIC: DAMAGE IS MEASURED IN MILLIONS OF EUROS
BELGRADE, April 30 (Tanjug) - Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society Jasna Matic stated that it is hard to make an exact assessment of the damages caused by the decision of the government in Pristina to remove the antennas of the Serbian mobile network operators from northern Kosovo, adding that the damage is measured in millions of euros. "Unfortunately, our country cannot directly affect and repair the damages inflicted in the southern Serbian province," Matic said for Vecernje novosti. "The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNMIK must act in accordance with the Resolution 1244 and take a firm and clear position so that this would not happen again," she added.

EKREM HOXHA: SERBIAN OPERATORS HAVE NO LICENSE TO WORK IN KOSOVO
PRISTINA, April 29 (Beta) - The chairman of the Kosovo Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications, Ekrem Hoxha, stated that mobile phone operators from Serbia "never had operating licenses in Kosovo after June 12, 1999." "We have investigated carefully and thoroughly and have found that mobile phone providers from Serbia had neither licenses nor temporary operating permits in Kosovo, after June 12, 1999. Not while UNMIK had executive authority, and not today," Hoxha told. On the other hand, operators from Serbia are claiming that they have valid licenses for operating in Kosovo. According to Hoxha, the field of telecommunications is regulated by the Law on Telecommunications from 2003, which was put into effect by the chief of UNMIK. Two mobile providers operate in Kosovo at this time Vala, part of the Kosovo Post, and IPKO, a joint Kosovo-Slovenian company. Both have contracts with two virtual operators, which also hold licenses of the Kosovo telecommunications regulator. According to the law, an international tender has to be organized for the granting of mobile operator licenses. Vala and IPKO obtained theirs at the time when UNMIK had executive authority in Kosovo. Hoxha said that no operators from Serbia ever participated in a tender for a license.

ONE MORE IPKO MOBILE RELAY DESTROYED IN NORTHERN KOSOVO
PRISTINA, April 29 (Beta) - Unknown perpetrators have planted explosives under a relay of the Kosovo mobile phone network IPKO, and have put it out of operation, the spokesman of the Kosovo police in charge of northern Kosovo, Besim Hoti, stated. This relay is the fourth of the IPKO 049 mobile network in Kosovo to have been destroyed in northern Kosovo in the past few days. Hoti said that the perpetrators are presumed to have used 200 grams of dynamite, and that the search for them was underway.

ARMED INCIDENT NEAR MACEDONIAN BORDER WITH KOSOVO
BLACE, April 29 (Beta) - In the vicinity of Blace on the Macedonian border with Kosovo, during the night of April 28 and 29 there was an exchange of gunfire between the police and an as yet unidentified group, Ivo Kotevski, a Macedonian police spokesperson, has confirmed. The incident unfolded when members of the Macedonian police attempted to seize a large quantity of weapons which for unknown reasons had been stored near the Blace border crossing. Kotevski confirmed that among the seized weapons were plastic explosives and detonators, which are standard terrorist equipment. The group, which most likely consisted of 12 individuals, also had a storage facility in the ravines of the Skopska Crna Gora mountain, as well as a large cache of mobile phones used to activate explosives during terrorist attacks. "As soon as fire was returned, the attackers fled," said Kotevski. "It has not been ruled out that they withdrew into Kosovo." After the exchange of fire, the police seized the large quantity of weapons, which also included hand grenades, bombs and automatic weapons. No police officers were injured in the incident, but there is the possibility that there were injured among those who fled to Kosovo.

SEVEN PEOPLE ARRESTED, ARMS SEIZED IN SOUTH OF KOSOVO
KACANIK, April 30 (Tanjug) - Seven people suspected of arms trafficking have been arrested in the village of Belograc, near Kacanik (south of Kosovo), following an incident in which fire was exchanged between the Macedonian police and a group of Kosovo Albanians at the border crossing between Macedonia and Serbia. The Kosovo police and KFOR had searched two houses in Belograc and seized a certain quantity of arms, uniforms, guns, one automatic rifle, six mortar grenades and detonation wire. According to the reports, the seized uniforms included those of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

SERBIA – EU

CVETKOVIC & PAPANDREOU SUPPORT 2014 AGENDA
ATHENS, April 29 (Tanjug) - Serbian and Greek Prime Ministers Mirko Cvetkovic and George Papandreou supported the 2014 Agenda for the integration of Western Balkan states in the EU. They also noted that Serbia's place is in the European family of nations. Greece put forward earlier the idea that all Western Balkan states should be integrated in the EU by 2014 and called this idea the 2014 Agenda. At a joint press conference, Cvetkovic and Papandreou described the relations between Serbia and Greece as very good and based on the historic friendship between the two peoples. Serbia should as soon as possible become a member of the European family of nations, as this is its rightful place, Papandreou said. Serbia is Greece's strategic partner and can play an essential role in Western Balkans, he said. Greece supports Serbia's European perspective and consequently commends the resolution on Srebrenica adopted recently by the Serbian parliament, as it will help improve relations in the whole region, Papandreou said. 2014 will be the crucial year for the integration of all Western Balkan states in the EU, provided that they meet the necessary pre-conditions and maintain good-neighborly relations, he emphasized. As regards the situation in Kosovo, Papandreou pointed to the need for protection of human rights and cultural heritage there. Protection of Serb Orthodox monasteries in Serbia's southern province is one of the goals set by Greece, Papandreou noted. Cvetkovic described his meeting with Papandreou as a talk between friends, and pointed to the long historic tradition between Serbs and Greeks. Serbia supports the 2014 Agenda as its place, as well as that of all Western Balkan states, is in the EU, Cvetkovic said. He thanked Greece for its principled support to Serbia's endeavors against the unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence.

DJELIC: EUR 30 MILLION FROM EU FOR CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION
BELGRADE, April 29 (Beta) - Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said that the first crossborder cooperation projects, which will be financed by EUR30 million from EU Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) funds, will be approved in the autumn. "The EU has doubled the amount of aid to Serbia intended for crossborder cooperation," said Djelic at the annual conference of the Cross-Border Cooperation Program dubbed "From CARDS to IPA." He underlined that Serbia was an exception because it had used all the resources which the EU had approved for regional cooperation projects and that there had not been one instance of the money being abused. Serbia began utilizing EU aid from the CARDS program for crossborder cooperation in 2004, receiving EUR15.6 million for nearly 200 projects. A new aspect of the IPA funds, besides Serbia having to minimally participate in the subfinancing of projects, is that programs which not only involve cooperation with EU member states, but also with states of the former Yugoslavia, can be put forward as candidates. Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Adriano Martins said that for the period 2006 to 2013 the EU had secured EUR350 billion for programs of territorial cooperation between EU member states and potential future members.

BARROSO SENT A NOTE TO TADIC, CVETKOVIC & MALOVIC
BELGRADE, April 29 (Beta) - President of the Association of Judges of Serbia Dragana Boljevic stated that the European Commission has called on the Serbian authorities to review the process of reelecting judges and prosecutors, conducted in December 2009. She told that EC Chief Jose Manuel Barroso sent a letter to the Association of Judges and the Association of Prosecutors of Serbia, informing them that "the question of flaws" in the reelection process "was initiated by Serbian collocutors, and that it was unequivocally requested that the process be reviewed. EU officials also sent a note to President Tadic, Prime Minister Cvetkovic and Justice Minister Malovic, reporting the conclusions drawn by the EC experts concerning the flaws in the process of reelecting judges and prosecutors, Boljevic said. Barroso's letter, distributed to the press, states that the experts' conclusions confirm that the reelection process proved to have major flaws in the composition and independence of the High Judicial Council and the Chamber of Prosecutors, the implementation of objective criteria, and the transparency and reliability of the process. Barroso's letter "represents a turning point in judicial reform in Serbia, provided that the Serbian authorities want to join the EU. If so, not only do they need to review the process, but also to make it public," she said. "It is now clear that the number of judges has to increase, and that those whose expertise, training and eligibility are not being contested returned to the bench," she assessed, expressing hope that the problem will be solved within Serbian institutions, not the EU.

GERMAN OFFICIALS: DENYING RECOGNITION NOT AN ISSUE
BELGRADE, April 29 (Beta) - German MP Andreas Schockenhoff said in Belgrade that Germany was not expecting Serbia to recognize Kosovo's independence, but pointed out that slowing down the province's independence would not positively affect Serbia's EU membership process. At a press conference, the CDU official said that Germany had no wish to threaten Serbia, but that the stance of the German parliament, the Bundestag, was that every new EU member had to bring stability to the union, not unresolved issues with neighbors. He said that Germany would respect the decision of the ICJ, but could not imagine how EU accession negotiations might look if Serbia were to continue to slow down Kosovo's independence on the basis of a possible positive decision by the court. Schockenhoff said it would be a mistake to waste time on the issue of Kosovo's status because there could not be a consensus on that at the present time, because of which Serbia should concentrate on things which can be resolved. According to him, the Bundestag would support Serbia's intention to enter the EU. He said completing cooperation with the Hague tribunal, fighting corruption, continuing judicial reform and improving relations with neighbors were the conditions for the further EU integration of Serbia. CDU official Michael Brand said that Germany had recognized Kosovo's independence and that it was no longer a current issue for his country. He added that he thought Serbia should devote time to the problems of unemployment, healthcare and education instead of Kosovo.

SERBIA

JEREMIC WILL ATTEND ADRIATIC-IONIAN INITIATIVE COUNCIL IN ANCONA, MAY 5
BELGRADE, April 30 (Tanjug) - Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini will chair the 12th Council of the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative (AII), which will be held in Ancona on May 5, the Italian Embassy in Belgrade stated. Heads of state and government of the AII member states, including Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, will attend the meeting ten years after the first one, also held in Ancona, it was said in the statement. The Ancona meeting is a part of the initiative Italy had launched over the past year in regards to the Western Balkan issue, aimed at supporting the process of EU integration of the countries of the east Adriatic coast, on their way to the EU, the statement also read. The Adriatic-Ionian Initiative was founded in Ancona on May 20, 2000 and its members are: Albanian, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Slovenia and Serbia, as the membership successor. The aim of the Initiative is to promote development and strengthen security in the Adriatic-Ionian region, as well as the cooperation among the region states.

DACIC: ALL PROBLEMS MUST BE RESOLVED THROUGH DIALOGUE
SARAJEVO, April 29 (Tanjug) - The Intercultural Dialogue and Internal Security conference participants adopted the Sarajevo Declaration on resolving all problems through dialogue, Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic said. The declaration refers precisely to intercultural dialogue and internal security, he told the press during a break in the conference. If problems are resolved in a peaceful manner and through dialogue and solidarity, a conflict-free society will be created, he said. Such a society would include people of different religions, ethnicity and culture, in which diversity would be a virtue, not a fault, he said. All ministers of interior who took part in the conference were united in their stand that resolving all problems in a peaceful manner is in the interest of internal security and stability of the entire region, he said. Agreement was also reached on the need for dialogue and solidarity and for fosterig human and civil rights and freedoms, he said. The two-day conference is also attended by the interior ministers of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), Macedonia and Montenegro, as well as some other ministers from Austria, Bulgaria and Romania.

DJELIC ABOUT RED ARMY'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE VICTORY OVER FASCISM
BELGRADE, April 29 (Tanjug) - Participants of the conference held at the Russian cultural center in Belgrade to mark 65th years since the victory over fascism assessed that World War Two was one of the world's greatest tragedies and that that history must not be rewritten and questioned. Opening the conference dubbed The Great Victory: Lessons in History and Politics, Russian Ambassador Alexander Konuzin said that everyone is entitled to their opinion but that there are hard historical facts and no one must rewrite history. Axis powers and their policy of aggression started the war. We cannot put people who shot anti-Hitler coalition soldiers in the back in the same boat with heroes. But that is exactly what is happening and it is not helping international relations or global stability, Konuzin said. It is important that international relations are based on the indivisibility of security and primacy of international law, in line with the UN Charter, the ambassador said reminding that Russia gave its contribution through President Medvedev's proposal for a new European security pact. Deputy Prime Minister Djelic spoke about the Red Army's contribution to the victory over fascism, noting that there have been attempts in the last ten years, in former Yugoslavia and across the world, to falsify history - attempts to move from the fascist camp to the winning camp. Permanent Russian Representative to NATO Dmitry Rogozin, Belorussian Charge d'Affaires in Serbia Sergey Tkachuk, Ukrainian Deputy Ambassador Alexander Kirichenko, SUBNOR President attended the conference.

PONOS EXPRESSED SATISFACTION: COMMITTEE HAS RESUMED ITS WORK
ZAGREB, April 30 (Tanjug) - The Interstate diplomatic committee for the identification and marking of the border between Croatia and Serbia and the preparation of the agreement on the state border between the two countries has continued negotiations in Zagreb after a seven year break. According to the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, the heads of delegations, State Secretary at the Croatian Foreign Ministry Davor Bozinovic and Assistant Minister and Head of the Directorate General of Bilateral Relations at the Serbian Foreign Ministry Zdravko Ponos expressed satisfaction that the committee, established in 2001, has resumed its work. They also expressed readiness of both sides to continue the work on solving the border issue. The committee members discussed the current situation on the border and evaluated it as good.

SERBIA – ECONOMY

CVETKOVIC: FIRST SIGNS OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY VISIBLE
ATHENES, April 29 (Beta) - Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic stated that the first signs of economic recovery in 2010 could be seen, but that it is still not enough to improve the citizens' living standard. "Industrial production increased by three percent in the first two months of 2010, compared to the same period in 2009, and export grew by 30 percent. In March, for the first time since the crisis began, there was a moderate increase in employment. Those are good signs, but they are not enough to improve the citizens' status," he said. Opening a panel dedicated to South East Europe at the Economic Conference in Athens, Cvetkovic said that special attention will be paid to the Corridor 10 highway, but that there are also plans to begin the construction of the Belgrade-Bar highway and to modernize the railroad in that direction, adding that EUR 1.6 million will be invested in those projects. He said that the Serbian government is absolutely dedicated to the development of regional cooperation and Balkan European integrations. "The Serbian government will support every action that aims at empowering regional cooperation, because that is an investment in a joint future," Cvetkovic said, according to the government's website.

DJELIC: TELEKOM SALE IN BEST INTEREST OF EMPLOYEES & CITIZENS
BELGRADE, April 30 (Tanjug) - Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said in the parliament that selling state-owned Telekom Serbia shares is in the best interest of citizens and Telekom employees and stressed that strategic interests of the state will be considered in the sale of the company's infrastructure. Asked by MPs why the state is selling Telekom and infrastructure companies in general, Djelic said that the government will make sure the ownership transformation of Telekom is conducted in line with the state's strategic goals. "We do not intend to substitute a state monopoly with a private one. The company is entering a stage in its development when it will need additional investments and strategic partners to continue its expansion in the region," Djelic said.

SERBIA OBTAINS PERMISSION TO EXPORT FISH TO EU
BELGRADE, April 29 (Beta) - Serbia has received permission to export fish products to the EU, the Agriculture Ministry announced. Veterinary Administration Director Zoran Micovic told that EU Veterinary Inspection had assessed that Serbia is in compliance with the conditions for the export of fish and fish products to the EU. He added that there are no limits in terms of the amount of fish Serbia can export into the Union. Micovic said that the licenses for the export of fish will be issued by the Veterinary Administration, stating that Serbia is above all counting on the export of trout. Total fish production in Serbia, including fish ponds and the catch from lakes and rivers, amounts to 10,000 tons a year.

WORLD BANK CHIEF: SERBIA NEEDS NEW GROWTH MODEL
BELGRADE, April 29 (Beta) - Chief of the World Bank Office in Belgrade Simo Gray assessed that Serbia must move toward a new model of economic growth, based on investments, rather than consumption. Gray stated for the May issue of the Belgrade monthly Bankar (ww.emg.rs) that the new growth model should include investments that stimulate export, and if possible, greenfield investments in new plants. According to him, an increase of economic growth in Serbia at a rate of two percent in 2010, three percent in 2011 and five percent in 2012 can happen only if the reform of regulations works, if the share of the private sector increases and if public administration is reduced. Asked about the consequences of delaying reform in the public sector, he said that the consequences in a crisis are somewhat more serious, since Serbia cannot rely on foreign capital sources which would finance its economic growth. "The slower the reforms, the lower the growth and the economy is less ready for the European market," Gray said. According to him, the aims set in Lisbon in 2000 for Europe, part of which Serbia would like to become, specify that 70 percent of the population aged between 15 and 65 should be employed. "This population group in Serbia has only 50 percent of employed persons, which is 2.5 million people. If you strive to reach that level, another 900,000 people need to be employed," he said, stressing that those vacancies cannot be created in the public, but in the private sector.