Brussels, 02/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 1 December, the European Parliament committee on foreign affairs (AFET) approved the stabilisation and association agreement (SAA) negotiated between the EU and Serbia. The plenary vote is scheduled for January 2011. The stalemate on the SAA was broken by the Council in June this year after long months of being blocked by the Netherlands due to the lack of cooperation shown by Belgrade with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) (see EUROPE 10159). The ratification process in member states was initiated after the summer and, to date, has been completed by 11 countries.
The same day, the foreign affairs committee adopted the report by Jelko Kacin (ALDE, Slovenia) on Serbia. In this report, which was voted through by a large majority, MEPs back the Council's decision of October (see EUROPE 10243), calling on the European Commission to prepare its “opinion” on Serbia's request for EU membership. Full cooperation with the ICTY on the part of Belgrade, including the arrest of Radko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, remains, however, a “fundamental condition for Serbia to progress on the path to EU membership”, MEPs state.
Kosovo. MEPs also call for the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo (with the support of the EU) to open without delay. They underline that the commitment and readiness of both sides to compromise is needed for long-term stability and for improving people's wellbeing.
Visas, refugees, Roma. Since December 2009, Serbian nationals may travel visa-free in the Schengen Area while EU citizens may travel to Serbia with an ID card. The Serbian authorities “should adopt adequate measures and make full efforts in order to limit possibilities to abuse the visa free regime, in particular to ensure that Serbian citizens are properly informed about their rights and obligations stemming from the visa-free regime”, the committee states. Serbia has the highest number of refugees and internally displaced persons in Europe and the housing and poverty situation there is critical, MEPs note, calling for additional measures to provide a lasting solution to the problem. The Roma population is greatly discriminated against with forced displacement and obstacles shutting off access to employment, the committee notes. MEPs consider the Roma should be able to have identity cards and better access to housing, education and healthcare. They also underline the importance of strong and independent media and call for measures to be taken to ensure media independence free of all political or other influence. They condemn the attacks and threats aimed at Serb journalists and call on the authorities to conduct an indepth investigation into this and to bring those guilty to justice. (H.B./transl.jl)