Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said that giving up Kosovo and Metohija must not be a condition for Serbia's entry into the European Union. "Serbia should be in the EU, and we should enter the Union proudly. Giving up Kosovo and Metohija should not be a condition for entry. This matters to my life and cannot be changed. The EU is aware of that position," Nikolic told the talk show Cirilica on TV Happy.

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said that he discussed the proposal for the long-term solution for Kosovo-Metohija with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and that the document will be approved by both the prime minister and the president before it is forwarded to the government.

"We will both agree with the proposal before it is presented to the government, because it would be pointless to send any material from the President's office to the government with which Aleksandar Vucic would not agree completely," Nikolic told Belgrade-based Prva Television.

“Serbia does not need to fully meet the international community’s requirements and dismantle parallel structures in Kosovo,” said Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic. “Brussels’ request for Serbia to abolish all parallel institutions in northern Kosovo should not be accepted because that would mean that we are giving up our principles.”

Citizens of Serbia would rather accept to live in poverty "than have someone recognize Kosovo on their behalf," Tomislav Nikolic has said.

The Serbian president made the statement on Monday as he was meeting with German Ambassador Heinz Wilhelm, adding that this was true despite the fact Serbia's entry into the European Union was "a matter of survival."

To which extent a new document, announced by the Serbian President Nikolic, can go out from the framework of Brussels Agreement, whose full implementation is condition for continuing Serbia's European integration?

Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) believes that document presents the upgrade of the process, which should prepare Serbia for all the surprises on the road to the EU. The opposition claims that it is a manipulation that will conceal the acceptance of the Brussels ultimatum.

It is time that we say what Serbia thinks is the lowest it can go in terms of a solution for Kosovo-Metohija, and the final decision needs to be made by the people in a referendum, says Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic.

Proposal for the solution of K&M status will be a joint project between the Government and the President of Serbia. The document is already roughly drafted and daily consultations between Tomislav Nikolic and Aleksandar Vucic began, learned Novosti.

The new proposal for the solution of the southern Serbian Province, announced recently by the Serbian President Nikolic, the opposition parties see as President’s attempt to differently position himself on the domestic political scene. Former negotiator and head of the parliamentary caucus of the Democratic Party, Borko Stefanovic, believes that Nikolic wants to propose division of Kosovo, or to try to distance from Vucic, who is expected to recognize Kosovo.

In parallel with implementation of the Brussels Agreement, Serbia will next year propose its solution for the final status of Kosovo and Metohija. President Tomislav Nikolic will soon present the new plan, and then the Government and the National Assembly should correct it and finalize.

ROME -- Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has said that he "never received from the EU as an official condition" Serbia's recognition of Kosovo.

The issue of setting conditions before Belgrade was brought up by EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn, and then his statements were interpreted by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic.