BRUSSELS, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Serbian Finance Minister Mladjan Dinkic says his country will be ready to join the European Union by 2012, media reports said Monday.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Dinkic said: "After one more term in government, we will be ready. By 2012 we will have fulfilled all of the reforms."
Dinkic said he was optimistic the Belgrade government of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica would arrest and transfer to the U.N. tribunal in The Hague Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic, sought on genocide charges in the former Yugoslavia.
The European Union interrupted association and stabilization talks with Belgrade in May after Kostunica failed to keep his promise to arrest Mladic.
EU officials have said the talks with Serbia will be resumed immediately after Mladic is transferred to The Hague.
Dinkic was in Brussels last week to ask the EU officials to raise aid packages to Serbia from $645 million to $1 billion.
