Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Solana said he was pleased with the talks, adding that he had received assurances from the government in Belgrade that it accepted a twin-track model for the admission of Serbia and Montenegro to the EU.
The time frame for the admission of the union of Serbia and Montenegro to the EU has been moved from 2007 to 2012, Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus said after the talks.
If the problem of cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal is resolved quickly, a positive feasibility study can be expected early next year and an association agreement could be signed by the end of 2005, so that the union of Serbia and Montenegro should become a member of the EU in 2012, Labus said.
A statement from the Office of the President of Serbia, Boris Tadic, said that the recent decision to introduce a twin-track model meant support for the maintenance of the union of Serbia and Montenegro, and added that the talks with Solana and Patten also focused on the situation in Kosovo, the protection of the Serb minority and historical monuments, and the return of Serbs to the UN-administered province.
Solana said that they did not discuss the possibility of Belgrade appealing to the Serbs to participate in forthcoming elections in Kosovo.
The two EU officials also met Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic and Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic. The talks with Serbian President Boris Tadic on the admission of Serbia and Montenegro to the EU are scheduled to resume in Brussels on Wednesday.