Serbia May Set EU Integration Precedent

Political analyst Ivan Vejvoda told Belgrade daily Blic on Thursday that it is possible that the EU could set a precedent by approving Serbia’s candidacy for EU membership before unfreezing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

Vejvoda, who is the director of the Balkan Fund for Democracy, said that the Association Agreement would then be unfrozen once Hague fugitive Ratko Mladic is arrested and extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

He said that this scenario is now realistic because the EU has realised that it must find a solution to promote Serbia’s European integration, since roadblocks in the process would be bad for the entire region.

Vejvoda also said that it is good that Sweden is currently heading the union, because Stockholm is familiar with the circumstances in the Balkans and is willing to help speed up the region’s EU integration process.

He told Blic that the issue will unfold in the next two to three months, as EU member states discuss whether they will recognise Serbia’s unilateral implementation of the Association Agreement, and whether this will then lead to their accepting Belgrade’s eventual bid for candidate status.