European Forum

Tadic and Josipovic: new phase in Serbia-Croatia relations

During their first meeting as presidents on 24 March, Serbian President Boris Tadic and his Croatian counterpart, Ivo Josipovic, have announced a new phase in relations between the two neighbouring countries.

The meeting came as a surprise as it had been announced earlier that the first official meeting between the two presidents would be held on 27 March in Brussels at a conference on US-EU relations.

Tense relationship
Relations between the two countries have been increasingly tense since Croatia recognised Kosovo's declaration of independence in March 2008, although newly elected Josipovic has voiced his desire to improve relations with Serbia on several occasions. Certain topics continue to negatively affect bilateral relations. The two countries have not yet settled a number of open issues related to the conflicts of the 1990s, including missing Croat combatants allegedly held captive in Serbia during the war, the extradition to Croatia of persons suspected of war crimes in Croatia, and the return of Serbian refugees to Croatia.

Croatia filed a genocide lawsuit against Serbia at the International Court of Justice in 1999, and after it declined requests to withdraw the suit, Belgrade filed a countersuit on January 4, 2010. Shortly thereafter, outgoing Croatian President Stjepan Mesic cut one year off the jail sentence of a convicted war criminal, a move that was objected to by Serbia. Former president Stjepan Mesic also said he would intervene militarily if Milorad Dodik, the leader of the Bosnian Serb dominated Republika Srpska region, made a move to secede from Bosnia. Furthermore, Serbia's president Tadic refused to attend the inauguration of the newly elected Croatian president Josipovic in February because his Kosovo counterpart was scheduled to attend. On 20 March, Tadic also chose not to attend the regional summit in Slovenia, co-organised by Croatia, because the Kosovo prime minister was due to attend.

Better relationship in spirit of European partnership
However, the recent first meeting between the leaders of both countries, seemed to show that Tadic and Josipovic are prepared to settle some of the pressing issues. "The goal of both countries is to belong to the European family of nations, which includes the introduction of European values and reforms in both countries," Tadic said. The two agreed that an out-of-court settlement could be the solution to the genocide lawsuits the two countries have filed against each other before the International Court of Justice. Boris Tadic told reporters after the meeting that it would be good for the matter to end in a settlement, "which does not mean the end of court proceedings against those who have committed crimes". He stressed that all those who have committed crimes must be brought to justice. "We are prepared to work on a solution that would represent a compromise, but which would not annul the principles of justice," the Serbian president said. His Croatian counterpart Ivo Josipović pointed out that the lawsuit is not an end in itself, stressing that "if there is a possibility for a settlement in the issues that are the subject of the lawsuit, then it would make no sense."

Both presidents endorsed building better relations between the two countries based on the principles of European partnership, saying that all open issues would be solved in the spirit of European partnership, with Tadic stressing that stereotypes and prejudices must be eliminated in relations between Serbia and Croatia. The two also stressed that the integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH, must not be questioned and that "everything agreed upon between the three nations in BiH is acceptable for Croatia and Serbia," as Tadic put it.

Sources: B92, Balkan Insight.