The issue of national identity is taken seriously by Balkan people – including the least serious among them.
EU Unblocks Serbia Interim Trade Agreement
Brussels | 07 December 2009 |
EU foreign ministes meeting in Brussels Monday evening agreed to unblock Serbia's interim trade agreement, paving the way for the country to apply for EU candidacy status. However, they failed to agree on whether to give Macedonia a start date for EU accession negotiations, and decided to continue their debate over dinner with a press conference scheduled for Tuesday.
The decision on Serbia came after the Netherlands lifted its opposition to closer EU ties, ending an 18-month blockade.
The Dutch government had been blocking an interim trade deal, demanding that Serbia first arrests two fugitive Balkans war crimes suspects.
But in his latest report to the UN Security Council, the International War Crime Tribunal's Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz said that Serbia has made "constant progress" in efforts to finalise cooperation with Court, noting however that the arrest of war crimes fugitives Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic remains the key issue.
He also recognised the professionalism and commitment of operational services tasked with the tracking of fugitives. It was the most positive report Serbia has received to date.
Serbia's President Boris Tadic welcomed the move: ''Both the visa liberalisation and now the unblocking of the interim agreement show that we are a country with high credibility in Europe and the World, a country that foreign investors see as safe destination for their capital and for opening new jobs,'' the President told journalists during a visit to Prague.
He said that Serbia will now consider when the most appropriate moment will be to submit its application to join the bloc. He said Serbia's application will be submitted when the government is certain that "it will get the best reaction possible".
EU foreign ministers signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia in April 2008, just before parliamentary elections in the country. The move was seen as crucial in swinging the vote behind pro-EU forces in the country.
Ministers failed to come to an agreement over Macedonia in time for a scheduled press conference Monday evening, EU sources said. This, after the European Commission recommend member states give Skopje a start date for EU accession negotiations.
Greece has said it will block any such date unless Macedonia changes its constitutional name. Athens blocked Macedonia's entry into NATO last year pending a solution to the 18-year-long dispute.
Foreign Ministers are meeting in Brussels for a two-day meeting, which for the first time is called the 'General Affairs Council' and 'Foreign Affairs Council', replacing the previous 'General Affairs and External Relations' Council. The changes have been prompted by the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and the advent of an EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security.
The meetings, which were chaired by the Swedish EU Presidency, were designed to prepare for the 10-11 December EU summit, where decisions on enlargement issues are expected to be taken.
