Brussels, 02/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 1 March ahead of the European Council, the European Parliament foreign affairs committee called on heads of state and government to grant Serbia candidate status for accession to the EU and to open negotiations as soon as possible, on condition that Serbia continues its reform process. In a resolution, the committee says that Serbia has achieved a “fully satisfactory” level of cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal, and welcomes the agreement of 24 February with Kosovo. The committee reminds the Serbian government of its obligation to do everything in its power to prevent acts of violence in the north of Kosovo. MEPs also call on the Serbian government to increase its efforts to ensure the independence and professionalism of these sectors, which “should undergo deep and broad reforms”. The vote on the resolution will take place in Brussels at the end of March.
Montenegro and Bosnia. In a separate resolution, which will be voted on in plenary session in April, the committee notes the “significant” progress by Montenegro and welcomes the European Council's decision to aim at starting accession negotiations in June. MEPs also commend Montenegro for its role in strengthening good neighbourly relations with other Western Balkan countries. However, the resolution underlines the need for efforts to implement the reforms, most importantly to tackle corruption and organised crime.
In a final resolution, MEPs call on the Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities to take further concrete steps to put the country firmly back on track towards the EU, saying the state must have the legislative, budgetary, executive and judicial powers needed to meet EU accession criteria. The vote on the resolution is scheduled for the session of 12-15 March. (CG/transl.rt)