(BRUSSELS) - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Wednesday it was "possible" that Serbia could get EU candidate status in 2009 if all conditions were met.

"It will be possible to have candidate status next year" if the conditions are fulfilled, Barroso told reporters in a new briefing with Serbian President Boris Tadic.

However, he said that "this is not a commitment" because of the conditions, namely that Serbia is deemed to be fully cooperating with The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

"I encourage this new government of Serbia to continue its efforts in order to clear the hurdles from the European Union road completely. It is important to ensure full cooperation with the ICTY," he added.

Tadic stressed that Serbia was not prepared to recognise independence for its breakaway region of Kosovo, something which most EU nations have already done.

"The future status of Kosovo and European integration of Serbia is two separate processes," he told reporters.

"Serbia is not going to recognise so called new countries... we are defending our territorial sovereignty and integrity."

Text and Picture Copyright 2008 AFP. All other Copyright 2008 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.