Brussels, 28/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 29 July 2008, COREPER will continue the discussions it began last Wednesday on the desire expressed by many ministers at the last External Relations Council (see EUROPE 9707) of Serbia being rewarded for the recent arrest of Radovan Karadzic and this reward taking the form of implementing the interim agreement on the Association and Stabilisation Agreement (ASA) between the EU and Serbia signed in April 2008. The new Serb government says that Karadzic's arrest should lift the EU's last doubts about Serbia's desire to fully cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). On Sunday, Serbian prime minister Mirko Cvetkovic said that Karadzic's arrest was proof of desire to cooperate with the ICTY, adding that he expected further arrests in the future. Cvetkovic hopes that the EU can make a quick decision to implement the interim agreement, which makes it possible to anticipate the application of the trade section of the ASA (ahead of its ratification). On Belgium's and the Netherlands' initiative, the EU decided in April 2008 when the ASA and the interim agreement were signed, that the interim agreement would not be implemented until Serbia fully cooperated with the ICTY. A unanimous decision at the Council is required confirming that Serbia is fully cooperating with the ICTY before the interim agreement can be applied, which would start the ASA ratification process. Even after Karadzic's arrest, the Netherlands sees the arrest of Mladic as an important factor to judge whether it would be appropriate to move forward in relations with Serbia. It is unclear, however, whether the Dutch government is actually making this a precondition for application of the interim agreement and starting the ASA ratification process. The Netherlands is awaiting the opinion of the ICTY general prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, on Serbia's cooperation and for Karadzic to be transferred to the court in The Hague before expressing itself, explain Dutch diplomats. Serb foreign minster Vuk Jeremic said this was just an excuse for blocking Serbia from joining the EU in the future. He said that there were countries in the EU that were opposed in principle to enlargement of the EU and this was why, even after Karadzic's arrest, they wanted an even stricter attitude to Serbia. He is quoted by the Frankfurter Allgemeine on 25 July 2008 as saying that these countries were fundamentally opposed to Serbia and the other Balkans countries joining the EU but did not have the courage to say so. Nevertheless, Jeremic said Serbia was 'highly determined' to join the EU and hoped to be given the status of candidate country for accession before the end of 2008. (H.B. /transl fl)