Luxembourg, 25/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 25 October, the foreign affairs ministers of the EU asked the European Commission to prepare its “opinion” on Serbia's application for accession. The agreement, which was reached at the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg, was made possible by a painstakingly prepared compromise put together by the Belgian Presidency, which allows the EU: on the one hand, to reward Serbia for its positive and constructive attitude to the Kosovo issue; on the other, to reiterate and confirm that the accession process is subject to strict conditionality and that Belgrade's full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) remains vital if Serbia wishes to move towards Europe.
Before Monday's Council, Serbia's application was blocked by the Netherlands, which refused to request the Commission's opinion as it felt that Serbia was not cooperating fully with the ICTY, particularly in arresting Radko Mladic and Goran Hadzic. The 26 other delegations, on the other hand, took the view that the EU had already waited too long to send a positive message to Belgrade. Monday's compromise takes account of both sides of the story. In conclusions adopted unanimously, the Council, having called upon the Commission to prepare its opinion, states that “further steps will be taken when the Council unanimously decides that full cooperation with the ICTY exists or continues to exist”. The draft text discussed on Friday by Coreper still contained negative wording, stressing that no additional steps would be taken until the Council confirms that there is full cooperation. The ministers, therefore, changed this key phrase to give it a “positive” slant, which made it possible for Sweden to get behind the text. The Netherlands, satisfied by the fact that the explicit reference to unanimity has stayed in, was also able to support the agreement, but asked for the Commission to present its opinion no earlier than summer 2011. The Commission then declared its intention to present its report in the second half of next year.
“This is an important stage in Serbia's accession process”, the Belgian foreign minister, Steven Vanackere, who chaired the General Affairs Council, told the press. Even though there is no formal link between the two dossiers, “it is clear that today's decision is linked to the constructive and positive attitude of Serbia as regards Kosovo” in preparations for the resolution voted upon on 10 September by the UN General Assembly, said Vanackere. Notwithstanding, Serbia will still have “much work” to do and “the accession process has only just started”, the Belgian minister continued. (H.B./transl.fl)