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Verhagen: I Believe in Serbia's European Future
Belgrade | 16 December 2009 | Bojana Barlovac
Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said that while the Netherlands believes in a future for Serbia in the EU, it is however necessary for Serbia fulfill all requirements with The Hague Tibunal and arrest war crime fugitives Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic.
After meeting in Belgrade with his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic, Verhagen said that the Netherlands will "remain strict and fair" when it comes to meeting standards for Serbia's accession to the EU, and will give financial and political support to the country.
"This is not aimed at pleasing the Netherlands, me personally, or Europe, but Serbia should end the cooperation because of itself," portal Mtsmondo quoted Verhagen as saying.
The Netherlands have so far stood firm on their position that Serbia's progress towards EU accession be linked to its cooperation with the Tribunal. The country vetoed earlier the unblocking of a trade agreement with the bloc until Serbia showed greater commitment towards fulfilling its Tribunal obligations.
Verhagen suggested in November a softening in the Dutch position regarding Serbia's cooperation with the Tribunal. The softer tone officially came into force after Chief UN War Crimes Prosecutor Serge Brammertz presented his report on Serbia's cooperation with the Tribunal and EU foreign ministers agreed on 7 December to unblock Serbia's Interim Trade Agreement with the bloc. The trade pact is a part of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, SAA.
In an interview with broadcaster B92, the Dutch foreign minister said that the Netherlands will make a final decision on whether to unfreeze Serbia's SAA with the EU in June.
The Dutch minister came to a one-day visit to Belgrade on Wednesday to discuss with Serbian officials bilateral relations, EU integration and the situation in the Balkans. Besides Jeremic, Verhagen also met Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic and Serbian President Boris Tadic. Tadic reiterated on the occasion that relations between the two countries have improved and that Serbia continues doing everything to find and arrest the remaining war crime fugitives.
At the beginning of the meeting with his Serbian counterpart, the two ministers warmly welcomed each other with the word 'finally', as the visit of the Dutch minister has been announced and then delayed several times in the past few months.
Jeremic pointed out that Serbia's priority is full EU membership and that the country is fully committed to cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. He expressed satisfaction with the Netherlands' support of the EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans.
"I hope that in the years ahead, this trend will be retained," Jeremic said. He added that relations between Serbia and the Netherlands are good and that there is enough space for their improvement, emphasising that in the next year special attention will be given to the economy.
Jeremic also announced the signing of several bilateral agreements with the Netherlands.
A Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of the two countries was signed on the occasion by Verhagen and Djelic. The Memorandum envisions strengthening institutional and administrative capacity in terms of Serbia's harmonisation with the EU along with implementation of EU legislation, as well as through programs on the environment - improving energy efficiency and use of technology in environmental conservation.
A previous Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Serbia and the Netherlands on assistance and cooperation between governments was signed in Belgrade on 29 August 2007, the deputy's cabinet announced.
