Brussels, 22/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - The surprise arrest of Radovan Karadzic on Sunday 20 July in Belgrade bears witness to the new Serbian government's commitment to make a contribution to peace and stability in the Balkans and “is a major step along the road to bringing Serbia closer to the European Union”, EU foreign ministers said on Tuesday 22 July in conclusions adopted by the External Relations Council. It is not simply by chance that the arrest of Karadzic, charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, came as rapidly after the formation of the new pro-European government in Serbia, the president-in-office of the Council, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told the press. Sunday's haul “places Serbia in a more positive waiting position vis-à-vis the European Union”, he said.
During the debate in Council, several member states as well as the European Commission said the EU should make an immediate gesture to speed up Serbia's integration process, and thus recompense the new Serbian government for its success. In practical terms, they suggest that the EU implement, with immediate effect, the interim agreement signed on 29 April this year, at the same time as the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). The interim agreement which - normally - anticipates application of the trade part of the SAA as soon as it is signed (pending ratification of the SAA) is momentarily suspended. The Netherlands and Belgium had obtained this suspension, saying that Belgrade was not fully cooperating with the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), especially with regard to Ratko Mladic's arrest. The Council's decision of 29 April this year provides for implementation of the interim agreement and the launch of the SAA ratification procedure to require a new unanimous decision from Council, once the latter has noted “full cooperation” from Serbian authorities with the ICTY. On Tuesday, Commissioner Olli Rehn said the time had now come to bring the interim agreement off the ice. This gesture would allow Serbia to move towards European integration more swiftly, he said after a meeting with the Serbian foreign minister, Vuk Jeremic. The Slovenian foreign minister, Dimitrij Rupel, also said that Serbia deserved a reward, in the form of immediate application of the interim agreement. Italy, Bulgaria and Greece expressed similar views.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, remained cautious. European Affairs Minister Frans Timmermans was opposed, on Tuesday, to the Council conclusions already referring to the possibility of “defrosting” the interim agreement. The Council nonetheless decided to forward the dossier to Coreper that is expected to examine this possibility in coming days. “We shall be looking at the proposals of the French Presidency very closely”, the Dutch diplomats explain, stressing that the position of the Netherlands on Serbia's indispensable “full cooperation with the ICTY” has not changed, especially concerning the arrest of Ratko Mladic. (H.B./transl.jl)