BRUSSELS, Belgium (BNO NEWS) -- Leaders of the European Union (EU) on Thursday decided to issue candidate status to Serbia after it signed a treaty on the protection of Romanian minorities, officials said. It brings Serbia another step closer to becoming a member of the union.

European Commissioner Štefan Füle met with Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić on Thursday to discuss the current state of play in Serbia and in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. "If sufficient progress is achieved in time, it would be possible for the forthcoming Council to confirm positively a decision to grant candidate status to Serbia," Füle stated.

Later on Thursday, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy confirmed that the Council had decided to grant candidate status to Serbia after it signed a treaty with Romania on the protection of minorities. Romania had previously threatened to block Serbia's membership bid after complaining about the treatment of the ethnically Romanian Wallachian minority in Serbia.

European Commission President José Manuel Durão Barroso welcomed the decision to give candidate status to Serbia, which applied for EU membership in 2009. "The reality is that we are going to welcome next year a new member, and there are others that want to join this very important project: a project of freedom, responsibility and solidarity," he added.

In addition, Füle acknowledged the commitment of the Serbian leadership to the European integration process and emphasized the continuing expectation of the EU that the dialogue will be followed up. The Commissioner added that the dialogue should lead to "tangible results," underlining the importance of inclusive regional cooperation.

Less than two weeks ago, the EU described the latest agreements reached in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue as a 'major step forward' in bringing Serbia and Kosovo closer to the EU.

As Serbia has constantly refused to recognize Kosovo's independence, which was declared in 2008, the implementation of the integrated management for crossing points (IBM) will now allow Kosovo to be able to participate in regional meetings and not be represented by the United Nations (UN) mission in Pristina. In addition, details regarding the management of Serbia and Kosovo's shared borders as well as border crossing were agreed on.

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