German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to support Serbia in its bid to apply for European Union membership.

Merkel made the announcement at a joint press conference with Serbian President Boris Tadic in Berlin, who was in the German capital to sign an agreement regarding German and Serbian energy supplies.

"Germany sees Serbia's EU prospects very clearly, and we will be working together on that," said Merkel.

However, the chancellor added that there are still obstacles that need to be addressed.

One is the status of Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in early 2008 and has been recognized as an independent nation by the United States and most EU countries. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's independence.

"It is of great importance that we have Germany's support on our European path," Tadic said. "However, there is a point where Serbia and Germany don't agree. Serbia cannot and will never recognize the independence of Kosovo."

Another sticking point is Serbia's cooperation with a war-crimes tribunal in The Hague. This includes helping with the search for two Serbian war crimes suspects wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Tadic made assurances that Serbia would completely cooperate with the tribunal to show its commitment to the EU accession process, and would only defend its position regarding Kosovo with legal and diplomatic means.

mz/DPA/Reuters
Editor: Kyle James