EU officials support Serbia's EU integration

04/09/2008

EU representatives in Brussels painted a bright picture of Serbia's prospects, while cautioning that requirements must still be met.

By Igor Jovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade – 04/09/08

"It will be possible to have candidate status next year" if the conditions are fulfilled, EC President Jose Manuel Barroso (right) said after his meeting with Serbian President Boris Tadic. [AFP]

EU officials, meeting with Serbian representatives Wednesday (September 3rd), have backed implementation of an interim trade agreement with Belgrade. The document was signed on April 29th, along with Serbia's Stabilisation and Association Agreement, but both documents were suspended until Belgrade achieved full co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told senior Serbian officials during the meeting in Brussels that the interim agreement will go into effect in the near future.

"Serbia now has a new, pro-European government and wants to deepen its relations with the EU, and we are absolutely determined to progress in that direction," Solana said. He added that Serbia could become an EU membership candidate as soon as early 2009, though much work must be done to achieve that goal.

On September 10th, ICTY chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz will arrive in Belgrade to assess co-operation with The Hague-based court. If he makes a positive assessment, the trade agreement could go into effect as early as September 15th, when the EU will hold a summit. But two member states -- Belgium and the Netherlands -- have signalled their opposition, saying Serbia must first arrest and hand over top war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic.

Asked whether those two member states will give the go-ahead, Solana said only that he expects implementation "very soon". He also said no new political demands will be set for Serbia's EU accession -- in other words, Belgrade will not be asked to recognise Kosovo's independence.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he believes Serbia could receive EU candidate status in 2009, as it has met the necessary conditions. He cautioned, though, that the process of putting the SAA before EU member states for ratification must first be launched.

Serbian President Boris Tadic, who led Belgrade's delegation to Brussels, said his country hopes to become a candidate as soon as possible and to be placed on the Schengen "white" list in 2009. He said Serbia is committed to meeting all of its ICTY obligations and anticipates a positive report from Brammertz.

He also expressed confidence that the Serbian parliament would soon ratify the SAA. The process has been stalled by opposition MPs.

The Serbian delegation, which also included Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, said the authorities would do everything they could to unblock the process. At the same time, they vowed that Belgrade would never recognise Kosovo's independence and insisted that the EU's mission to Kosovo, EULEX, could be deployed only with UN Security Council consent