EU's Van Rompuy: ratification of Serbia's SAA will begin in June
07/03/2010
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- EU President Herman Van Rompuy said Friday (March 5th) that he believes the Union will begin ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia in June. Van Rompuy met in Brussels with Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, who said his country's number one priority is joining the EU. Van Rompuy said now that an interim trade agreement reached in December is active, the EU can fully support Serbia's bid for integration.
Cvetkovic is determined for his country to reach EU candidate status in 2010. Gaining the coveted status has been blocked due to opposition by the Netherlands, which wants Belgrade to fully co-operate with The Hague war crimes tribunal and arrest Bosnian Serb wartime leader Ratko Mladic. While in Brussels, Cvetkovic met with his Belgian counterpart Ives Leterme. The two officials agreed to co-operate closely to solve the problem of political asylum seekers from southern Serbia and Macedonia settling in Belgium. Sweden and Switzerland have also complained about increased numbers of asylum seekers from Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro. (Beta, RTS - 05/03/10)
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