Brussels, 29/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - The offer made by the EU to Serbia on Monday evening to sign an “interim political agreement” which would strengthen relations in several areas (political dialogue, trade, visas, education) without having to await the signature and the coming into effect of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), cannot be seen as interference in the Serbian electoral process, argued EU Council President and Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel in Brussels on Tuesday 29 January. “We are not making any intervention in the presidential elections in Serbia,” he told the European Parliament foreign affairs committee. Previously, several MEPs, particularly Annemie Neyts Uyttebroeck (ALDE, Belgium) had warned the EU against any attempt to influence the elections in Serbia. Rupel admitted that “we all have our preferences” with regard to the outcome of the elections (it is clear that the EU would rather see the pro-European Boris Tadic win the elections than the nationalist Tomislav Nikolic), “but these preferences play no role in our actions towards Serbia,” Rupel said.
On Monday evening, at the General Affairs Council (see EUROPE 9589), EU foreign ministers adopted a declaration in which they “invite” Serbia to sign an “interim political agreement” on 7 February with a view to “accelerating” Serbia's progress towards the EU, including its gaining candidate status.
The agreement aims to unblock the current stalemate in EU/Serbia relations, due to the EU's inability to obtain the required unanimity for signing a stabilisation and association agreement (the Netherlands and to a lesser extent, Belgium, do not want to sign the SAA as long a Belgrade continues to not cooperate entirely with the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ITFY), in other words until Radko Mladic is brought to The Hague. A few days away from the second round of Serbian presidential elections, the EU also wants to indicate to citizens that their country has European prospects, on the condition that it elects a pro-European president.
In its declaration on 28 January, the Council explained that the agreement will help to make progress in four specific areas: political dialogue, the setting up of a free trade zone, visa liberalisation and educational cooperation (access of Serbian students to European universities). The EU is also proposing that Belgrade sets up a task force to examine how Serbia could make swifter progress down its European path and how it can fulfil the criteria of full cooperation with the ITFY as soon as possible, in an effort to get the SAA signed.
The task force will begin its work immediately and will then formulate “recommendations” as soon as possible to the Serbian government and Council of the EU.
The first reaction of Serbia to the European offer was positive. On Monday evening on 28 January, immediately after the General Affairs Council, the Serbian foreign minister, Vuk Jeremic said that he was, “very happy”. The EU's outstretched hand transformed Sunday's Serbian election into a “referendum” on support or opposing Europe.
It is also expected to help the outgoing president, Boris Tadic obtain victory, explained Mr Jeremic at the end of the EU/Serbia ministerial troika in Brussels. Jeremic added that, “the Serbian people will also have a chance to decide if it wants to open these doors. I am absolutely convinced that Serbians will open them so that after 3 February, after our referendum on Europe, we will be in a position to be able to return to Brussels”. (H.B.)