Karadzic arrest signals shift for Belgrade

The Times reports that the seizure of Radovan Karadzic by Serb special forces illustrates the recent dramatic political sea change in Serbia.

The paper says that the new government under President Tadic having, within weeks of coming to power, produced one of the key Serb fugitives from international justice has shown that Belgrade’s future lies within the EU.

With a growing sense that Serbia could be left behind as its poor neighbours such as Romania and Bulgaria soak up millions of euros of EU funding since joining in 2007, and that its old rival Croatia in lining up membership in 2010 or 2011, political analyst Braca Grubacictold the paper that “we realised that the west is sick and tired of this old Balkan story. Enough was enough.”

EU leaders said on Tuesday that Dr Karadzic's arrest could speed Serbia's membership bid and suggested that capturing Ratko Mladic would also improve Serbia’s EU aspirations.

“The new Government in Belgrade stands for a new Serbia, for a new quality of relations with the EU,” said the EU’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

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