By Daisy Ayliffe - 2nd May 2006
The EU has halted talks with Serbia over the country’s failure to transfer war crimes suspect general Ratko Mladic to the Hague.
Following a conversation with the UN's chief war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte on Wednesday, EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said he had no choice but to suspend talks.
“I have received a detailed update on the state of cooperation of Serbia and Montenegro with the ICTY from the chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte. Her assessment is negative,” Rehn told reporters on Wednesday.
“The commission therefore has to call off the negotiations on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. The commission is ready to resume negotiations as soon as Serbia achieves full cooperation. The next round of negotiations was scheduled for 11 May.”
Serbia-Montenegro opened talks on a Stability and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU in October 2005.
The agreement is seen as the first step on the country's path to eventual membership of the EU.
One month ago, the EU was persuaded to give Belgrade more time to hand over Mladic, who is accused of orchestrating the massacre of more than 7,000 Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995.
But on Wednesday, the EU executive made it clear that its patience has been exhausted.
“This issue is about the rule of law,” Rehn insisted.
“Serbia must show that nobody is above the law, and that anyone indicted for serious crimes will face justice. It is also about achieving democratic maturity. The armed forces and security services must be fully under democratic control.”
Suspension of EU talks comes at a difficult time for Serbia.
On May 21 Montegro will vote in a referendum on independence and Kosovar Albanians are also turning up the volume on their calls for independence.
“Serbia’s European future is under threat,” foreign minister Vuk Draskovic said in Brussels on Friday.
But while Rehn expressed disappointment at the set back, he insisted Serbia could still complete SAA negotiations by the end of the year.
“Our initial goal of concluding the negotiations by the end of 2006 is still within reach, but only if there is a dramatic improvement in cooperation with the ICTY so that the negotiations can resume without delay.”
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