Brussels, 01/07/2004 (Agence Europe) - Using the simplified procedure, the Council of the EU has adopted a common position extending the entry and transit ban in the EU to 13 more people hindering the work of the International Criminal Court for the Former Yugoslavia (ICCFY) by supporting people found guilty and currently on the run. The new additions are Zeljko Bagic, Ljubo Cesic, Zeljko Dilber, Dragomir Keserovic, Dragan Kijac, Ante Maksan, Milan Ninkovic, Velibor Ostojic, Hrvoje Petrac, Branislav Puhalo, Mirko Sarovic, Ratomir Spajic and Milan Zogovic. This brings the number of people hit by this ban to 27.
In a press release, Chris Patten, External Relations Commissioner, says that full cooperation with the ICCFY by Bosnia Herzegovina, particularly the Republika Srpska, is a precondition for considering closer relations with the EU. He said it was a scandal that almost a decade after the war, the authorities of Serbia and Bosnia have still not arrested a single person convicted of war crimes by the ICCFY.