25 Oct 2010 / 13:44
Serbia's EU membership bid has taken a major step forward today, overcoming Dutch concerns, with officials noting that Belgrade's willingness to hold talks with Kosovo should not go unrewarded.
“This is big step forward in the accession process of Serbia,” Belgium's European Affairs Minister Steven Vaneckere said today. “It is clear that the decision of today is linked with the positive and constructive attitude [of Serbia] towards Pristina,” he added.
EU foreign ministers, meeting today in Luxembourg, adopted a formal decision to forward Serbia's application for candidacy status to the European Commission, the next major step in its EU bid.
The decision was made possible after an agreement was reached on Friday night with Dutch officials, who have previously tried to put the brake on Serbia's EU candidacy application because Belgrade has still not caught the remaining war crimes fugitives. It was agreed that further steps would not be taken unless Belgrade is shown to be in full cooperation with the ICTY.
The decision was made possible after an agreement was reached on Friday night with Dutch officials, who have previously tried to put the brake on Serbia's EU candidacy application because Belgrade has still not caught the remaining war crimes fugitives. It was agreed that further steps would not be taken unless Belgrade is shown to be in full cooperation with the ICTY.
“It has been made abundantly clear that next steps will be based on the logic of conditionality- full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [ICTY],” Vaneckere said. Belgium currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
The Dutch government has been reluctant to move forward with Serbia's EU bid before Belgrade arrests and delivers the remaining war crimes fugitives, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, to the ICTY.
Today’s decision depended largely on the Dutch government's willingness to move forward despite the fact that the two men remain at large.
European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele welcomed the move by EU ministers. "Today's decision is the expression of the strong EU support to Serbia and its leadership. This support is paralleled by equally high expectations," he said in a press release.
The European Commission will now begin drafting an opinion on Belgrade's readiness to become an EU candidate country, a process that will likely take a year to complete.
European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele welcomed the move by EU ministers. "Today's decision is the expression of the strong EU support to Serbia and its leadership. This support is paralleled by equally high expectations," he said in a press release.
The European Commission will now begin drafting an opinion on Belgrade's readiness to become an EU candidate country, a process that will likely take a year to complete.
Once a country's candidacy application in forwarded, the Commission carries out a technical review of the country to determine if it is ready to start EU accession talks. Albania and Montenegro are expecting this review from the Commission in November.
Most EU member states agreed that the same step should be allowed for Serbia in recognition of Belgrade’s willingness to sign off on a UN resolution in September in which Serbia agreed to hold talks with officials in Pristina.
“Serbia's attitude towards working for dialogue with Kosovo is an act that should not go unrewarded,” Vaneckere said today.
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