Madrid wants quick decision on Serbian EU bid

27/01/2010

EU president Spain says the bloc should consider Serbia's membership application as soon as possible. Others want suspected war criminals arrested first.

(Blic, Emportal, The Sofia Echo - 27/01/10; Reuters, Bloomberg, DPA, Beta, B92, Radio Srbija, Spanish EU Presidency - 26/01/10)

"EU membership remains a key priority … we hope this process will move on as quickly as possible," Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said. [Getty Images]

Spain, the current EU presidency chair, will push for a quick decision on Serbia's application for membership in the 27-nation bloc, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said in Brussels on Tuesday (January 26th).

"The sooner, the better," said Moratinos at a news conference following talks with Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic. Spain is one of five EU member nations that have not recognised the independence of Kosovo since that country seceded from Serbia in 2008.

The Moratinos-Jeremic dialogue was the first ministerial level session between the EU and Serbia since the Balkan country submitted a formal application on December 22nd.

"We discussed the constructive role Serbia can play in the Western Balkans and how we can work together in a practical way with regards to Kosovo," said Moratinos.

Under EU rules, member states must ask the European Commission (EC) to prepare an opinion on Serbia's ability to meet entry conditions. A positive assessment helps pave the way for inclusion as an official EU candidate. Those hopefuls now include Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey.

Outgoing EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, who also participated in Tuesday's meeting, said the EC is ready to begin preparing the assessment as soon as the EU Council of Ministers requests it.

Joining the EU remains a priority for Belgrade. Jeremic said his government would work with the Spanish EU presidency, the new EC team and with the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton "to make 2010 another success for Serbia".

Last year marked several important achievements in Serbia's EU integration process, including visa-free travel to most of Europe and the enactment of an interim trade agreement with the bloc.

Full co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) -- including the arrest of war crimes suspects sought by The Hague-based court -- is a key condition that all EU hopefuls from the Balkans must meet. Jeremic assured the EU that Serbia remains firmly committed to the requirement.

Belgrade has been under pressure to hand over two remaining two fugitives -- former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic and wartime Serbian Croat political leader Goran Hadzic. The UN believes that both are hiding in Serbia.

In early December, chief UN prosecutor Serge Brammertz said Serbia had improved co-operation with The Hague tribunal and was making "satisfactory" efforts to capture the fugitives. This led to the unfreezing of Belgrade's interim trade pact with the EU. Serbia's Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) -- a part of the trade deal -- remains blocked, as some member states, particularly the Netherlands, insist Mladic be captured first.

According to the Belgrade-based daily Blic, Jeremic was told Tuesday that the EU Council of Ministers is unlikely to consider Serbia's membership application -- along with the enactment of the SAA -- before June, if the fugitives remain at large.

Citing diplomatic sources, the paper also reported that Dutch and Belgian officials insist that the bloc wait for Brammertz's next assessment before putting Serbia's bid on the Council agenda.