Serbian President Boris Tadic has refused to sign a declaration calling for changes in Serbia’s policy toward Kosovo.

The opposition Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, and the Serbian Renewal Movement, SPO, with the support of NGOs and prominent public figures have drafted the document saying that Serbia must return to the negotiating table with Kosovo if it wants to join the EU. It underscores that “Europe is the only acceptable lighthouse for the stray society of Serbia.”

EU foreign ministers are expected to decide on Serbia’s EU candidacy on December 9.

Belgrade has refused to continue the dialogue with Pristina until Kosovo officials withdraw from the border crossings.

Representatives from the SPO and LDP will tour the country with their declaration ahead of the December 9 decision with the aim of presenting it to Tadic and the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, whom they hope will sign. The group has also announced a large gathering in the centre of Belgrade on December 9.

Tadic has said, however, that he cannot sign, saying it would mean giving up on national interests. “A country that renounces its legitimate interests easily is then recognised by the big powers as a country that one can easily set new conditions and is losing credibility in politics,” Tadic said.

He says that Europe knows that Serbia’s interests in its former province, which declared independence in February 2008, are legitimate which is why nobody is asking Belgrade to explicitly recognise Kosovo, though some countries would like Serbia to do it implicitly.

SPO leader Vuk Draskovic on November 5 blamed past Serbian leaders for the loss of Kosovo. “Their policy and blindness have caused Serbia to lose both Kosovo and the old allies and friends in western Europe,” he said.