European Forum

Croatia signs accession treaty, Serbia’s EU candidacy delayed, Montenegro to open negotiation

On Friday 9 December Croatia has signed the accession treaty with the EU in Brussels and will become the 28th EU member on July 1 2013. Furthermore, the European Council has decided that Serbia should obtain the candidacy status in March 2012 under condition that further progress is made in dialogue with Pristina. Montenegro can start the negotiations on membership in June 2012.

Croatia: “welcome to the European family”
These were the words of the President of the Council Herman Van Rompuy today in Brussels who added that despite the economic problems the EU is open for accession of Balkan countries. The outgoing Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and President Ivo Josipovic signed the accession treaty. Kosor: “I would like to thank all who contributed to this solemn and historical day for Croatia. I am proud to be part of this historical moment.” Josipovic added that “after 20 years modern Croatia is becoming a part of the political and cultural area to which it has belonged for centuries. Croatia is not giving its sovereignty to the EU, it is investing in the EU.” Before officially becoming a member, on 1 July 2013, Croatia will hold a referendum on accession among its citizens. Although the opinion polls suggest that around 50 % of Croatians oppose EU accession, it is expected that the campaign of the newly elected government and the opposition will contribute to a ‘Yes” vote.

EU politics towards Serbia
Serbia has to convince the Council that it is committed to a dialogue with Pristina: implementing the agreed documents, reaching an agreement on regional cooperation and enabling EULEX and KFOR to perform their mandates. If these conditions are met, Serbia could obtain candidate status in March 2012, just before the general elections. In a reaction Serbian President Boris Tadic has stated that despite today’s decision of the Council, Serbia can not and will not give up on its EU aspirations. Allegedly in the end Germany was the only country opposing Serbia obtaining a candidate status. On the one hand these politics of pressuring Belgrade has proven to be a useful tool in achieving certain goals; crucial reforms were made, arrest of Mladic and Karadzic and most recently an agreement on border management with Pristina. On the other hand there is a risk of overplaying this hand, squeezing Serbia too much, without giving the country a actual reward for their effort. As a consequence increased nationalist and EU feelings could disturb Serbia’s EU path.

Montenegro to open the ‘difficult’ chapters first
After recommendations by the European Commission (EC), the Council has decided that Montenegro will have to open talks on the most challenging chapters in the accession process: chapters 23 and 24, which deal with the rule of law and the fight against organised crime and corruption. The EC has to closely monitor the implementation of reforms in these areas and report to the Council before the start of negotiations in June 2012. With this demand to tackle the most difficult chapters in the beginning, Brussels has taken a new, more strict, approach towards aspirant countries.

Source: Volkskrant, Tanjug, BIRN and B92