BELGRADE, July 6 (Reuters) - The European Union has not shut the door on Serbia but will only restart talks on closer ties once Belgrade brings war crime fugitives to justice, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Thursday.
The EU froze talks on a so-called Stabilisation and Association Agreement two months ago because Belgrade failed to deliver Bosnian Serb fugitive Ratko Mladic to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
During an official visit to Belgrade, Rehn said the EU was still "actively engaged in the European future of Serbia".
As proof of its commitment, it had prepared a separate negotiation mandate for Serbia, which was conducting association talks with Montenegro until it voted to pull out of their union in May.
"Full cooperation with the ICTY, which needs to lead to the arrest and transfer of Ratko Mladic, remains the necessary condition to resume the talks for the SAA agreement," Rehn said after a meeting with Serbia's pro-Western president Boris Tadic.
The association agreement would be the first step on Serbia's long road to eventual EU membership. The suspension left Serbia as the only country in the Balkans without a roadmap to accession, even behind once Stalinist Albania which signed up last month.
Apart from the EU rebuff, the Montenegro vote and the prospect of independence this year for the breakaway province of Kosovo have increased Serbia's feelings of betrayal by the West.
Echoing the frustration of ordinary Serbs, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica last month said the EU stance was "deeply wrong" and counter-productive. Brussels said he was trying to shift blame for his government's failures.
But worried that wounded pride will further boost the ultranationalist Radical Party, already the country's strongest, Western officials have urged the international community to show Serbs their future lies within Europe and NATO, not chauvinism and isolation.
While Brussels has made a number of goodwill gestures that include promises of financial aid and easing of the gruelling visa regime, it has never wavered from its condition on war crimes suspects.
Rehn said he was heartened by the preparation of an "action plan" by the Serbian government to get negotiations back on track by arresting Mladic, who is twice indicted for genocide for his role in the 1992-95 Bosnia war.
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3 comments:
"But worried that wounded pride will further boost the ultranationalist Radical Party, already the country's strongest, Western officials have urged the international community to show Serbs their future lies within Europe and NATO, not chauvinism and isolation."
Am I the only one who is doesn't think this issue can be paraphrased into such an abbreviated notion?
Cvijus,
Tirana was founded in the 1614 and, as you might have guessed with the help of your masters degree in History, can not be Illyrian related.
All,
How do the posts on this thread relate to the actual article?
Anyc,
Si mundem me kontaktu me ty?
Sorry to change the subject but I was sent this:
BELGRADE–Serbian president Vojislav Kostunica deployed more than 30,000 peacekeeping troops to the U.S. Monday, pledging full support to the troubled North American nation as it struggles to establish democracy.
We must do all we can to support free elections in America and allow democracy to gain a foothold there," Kostunica said. "The U.S. is a major player in the Western Hemisphere and its continued stability is vital to Serbian interests in that region."
Kostunica urged Al Gore, the U.S. opposition-party leader who is refusing to recognize the nation's Nov. 7 election results, to "let the democratic process take its course."
"Mr. Gore needs to acknowledge the will of the people and concede that he has lost this election," Kostunica said. "Until America's political figures learn to respect the institutions that have been put in place, the nation will never be a true democracy."
Serbian forces have been stationed throughout the U.S., with an emphasis on certain trouble zones. Among them are Oregon, Florida, and eastern Tennessee, where Gore set up headquarters in Bush territory. An additional 10,000 troops are expected to arrive in the capital city of Washington, D.C. by Friday.
Though Kostunica has pledged to work with U.S. leaders, he did not rule out the possibility of economic sanctions if the crisis is not resolved soon.
"For democracy to take root and flourish, it must be planted in the rich soil of liberty. And the cornerstone of liberty is elections free of tampering or corruption," Kostunica said. "Should America prove itself incapable of learning this lesson on its own, the international community may be forced to take stronger measures."
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/38646
On myths, its perfectly normal for nations / ethnic groups to have myths and no one side has a monopoly on them. Dont see whats controversial about that.
anyc I dont see why you should feel joy when you believe your predjudices about Cvijus are confirmed. I feel joy in what we have in common not in defining what is my supposed enemy.
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