European Forum

Serbia to obtain EU candidate status

The European Commission suggests to give Serbia candidate status in its eagerly anticipated annual progress report that has been presented on Wednesday 12 October by enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele. The country is being commended for getting its laws in line with the EU legislation. The arrests of former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic and former Croation Serb leader Goran Hadzic also play an important role in the recommendation of the Commission. The integration road ahead is not completely clear for Serbia yet; the crisis with regards to Kosovo needs to be solved before the Commission is willing to propose an accession date.

Serbia is lauded for its democratic reforms and fighting corruption within the executive and judiciary branches of the government. The commission also notes that it expects that great progress can be made in the fields of fisheries and environmental protection in the coming years. However, what has tipped the balance in favour of Serbia was the removal of “a major stumbling block from Serbia's European path:" the arrests of Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic. Mladic is being tried at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for the Srebrenica massacre and the Netherlands had made his arrest a non-negotiable demand for Serbia’s candidacy.

Tensions over Kosovo have risen since this summer, when one police officer died and numerous others were injured during clashes at border checkpoints. The dispute was settled by the governments in Pristina and Belgrade, but Serbian civilians have been putting up roadblocks and attacking NATO-manned checkpoints. Clashes reached a high-point on the 27th of September, when 16 ethnic Serbs and four NATO peacekeepers were hurt. Belgrade has refused to recognise Kosovo’s statehood ever since the region declared independence in 2009. Most EU countries recognise it as an independent state, although some members refuse to do so, most notably Spain, Greece, and Romania. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that Serbia must let go of its claim on Kosovo before talks can continue.

The commission further recommended opening talks with Montenegro, but expressed its frustration with regards to the progress of Turkey. The commission’s recommendations are expected to be endorsed by the Council of Ministers in December.

Sources: Balkaninsight, BBC, Euronews, NRC Handelsblad, Wall Street Journal, Image.