Brussels, 01/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 1 March, the European summit was due to announce that Serbia has become an official candidate country to join the EU, as was recommended by the General Affairs Council on 28 February 2012. A European diplomat said it was a historic decision that he hoped would be confirmed by the European Commission, giving guarantees to Romania about the position of the Romanian minority in Serbia. The Romanian president, Traian Basescu, decided on Thursday to stop vetoing the award of official candidate status to Serbia, thus lifting the final obstacle to this important stage in the process of the country potentially joining the EU. Quizzed on his arrival for the European summit in Brussels on Thursday by Serbian media, Basescu said that the problem with the Romanian minority in Serbia had been settled. Earlier, diplomats explained that Bucharest had signed an agreement with Belgrade guaranteeing the rights of Romanians living in Serbia (estimated to total about 30,000). The question was raised earlier in the week by Romania to the surprise of all, to justify its resistance to granting Serbia official candidate country status.
On Tuesday, Romania stood out for a long time against the General Affairs Council's recommendation, demanding guarantees for the Romanian minority in Serbia. The diplomat said that it had finally agreed to the conclusions document (of the General Affairs Council) with its key sentence that Serbia meets the conditions laid down by the December 2011 European Council and that official candidate status is therefore recommended. The diplomat suggested this was a positive sign for Thursday.
On Tuesday, the General Affairs Council said that Belgrade had met the conditions set by European heads of state in December 2011, namely progress in dialogue with Kosovo, agreement on regional cooperation, progress in introducing previous agreements, including integrated border management, and greater cooperation with Eulex and KFOR.
To reassure Romania, the European Commission said it would be very closely monitoring the question of minorities in Serbia and was prepared to help Belgrade with enforcement of its legislation in this connection. Romania and Serbia held special talks to resolve the issue. Being awarded official candidate country status does not mean that accession negotiations are due to begin, for which a separate agreement of the EU27 is required.
Discussions on Syria and Belarus. On Friday, the heads of state are expected to discuss Syria (on the basis of a conclusions document published by the Foreign Affairs Council on 27 February) and are likely to increase the level of sanctions against the Syrian regime, criticising the violence and calling for humanitarian aid in the light of the most recent developments on the ground, in terms of humanitarian aid and the United Nations. The leaders will also discuss the Arab Spring.
A European diplomat explained that the European summit was bound to discuss the tempestuous relationship with Belarus because some countries may want the problems with the country to be mentioned in the conclusions document. (CG/transl.fl)