BELGRADE (Serbia), October 14 (SeeNews) – The European Union should implement its Interim Agreement with Serbia now after Belgrade showed it is committed to moving closer to the bloc but the Balkan country needs to be more constructive on issues related to its breakaway Kosovo province.
“Serbia has demonstrated its commitment to moving closer to the EU by building up a track record in implementing the provisions of the Interim Agreement with the EU and by undertaking key reforms,” the European Union executive said in a statement.
“In light of sustained cooperation with ICTY, the Commission considers that the Interim Agreement should now be implemented by the EU,” the statement said. ICTY is The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
While Serbia has made first steps to cooperate with the EU rule of law mission (EULEX) in Kosovo, it needs to step up its efforts .
“There is a need for Serbia and Kosovo to reach pragmatic solutions enabling key regional fora to continue fulfilling their role in advancing regional cooperation and development,” the Commission said.
The Balkan country has a stable government, good public administration capacity and has made progress in fighting corruption and protecting human rights but more efforts are needed to improve the mentioned areas, as well as the accountability and efficiency of its judicial system.
Serbia made substantial progress towards EU accession with the signing of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) in April 2008 and with the arrest of Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic in August. Karadzic is currently standing trial on charges of genocide and crimes against non-Serb civilians in Bosnia committed during the 1992-95 war there. Karadzic’s army commander Ratko Mladic remains at large and Belgrade’s earlier unwillingness to arrest and transfer him to The Hague tribunal has been one of the main barriers to the singing of the SAA.
In September, the EU put on hold the interim trade agreement, part of the SAA with Serbia, until the country achieves full cooperation with the war crimes tribunal. A month later, Serbia’s government decided to start applying unilaterally the agreement in 2009, aiming to shorten the time it will take the country to join the bloc.