Kosovo a condition for Serbia’s “EU accession”

Serbia was told by the EU that there is no separation between Serbia’s position on Kosovo and Serbia’s EU membership. In clear terms, sources say, top officials of Belgium told Serbia’s President Tadic that Kosovo and Serbia’s EU membership are not separate issues.

Tadic was told by the Belgian officials that granting Serbia the status of candidate country would depend on Belgrade’s moves concerning Kosovo.

Belgian officials said that the EU could seek from the European Commission an opinion on Serbia’s candidacy for membership no sooner than in December.

The European Commission opinion has thus far been a “technical matter” but the signals indicate that the opinion will depend on Serbia’s acceptance of EU’s diktat on Kosovo.

EU is not demanding that Serbia immediately recognize Kosovo but is demanding that Serbia does not seek a UN Resolution that seeks talks on status of Serbia’s Kosovo province.

Sources have said last night that EU may have forwarded a draft resolution to Belgrade in which status talks are not even mentioned.

Serbian news agency Beta, could not confirm that EU has sent such document to Belgrade.

Sources say that EU may seek to organize a meeting between Belgrade and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo not to talk status but other issues of “common interest”.

Ethnic Serbs are killed and brutalized almost daily and EU and the US have never developed a policy to put a stop to the Albanian attacks on Serbs.

Tadic however has stated that he expects Serbia’s EU integration to be accelerated in autumn.

“The extension and the creation of an artificial deadline for Serbia’s EU accession after 2020 is not an option for the country. Every plan that envisages that this will happen after 2020 is unrealistic,” Tadic said.

As recently as several months ago, Serbia’s “EU accession” was dated by 2014.

Tadic said that he believes that the EU still wants the Western Balkans to become part of the EU.

Belgian Ambassador to Belgrade Denise De Hauwere has alleged that Kosovo has never been a condition for Serbia’s membership in the EU.

She however added it is necessary that Serbia has good “neighborly relations” with Kosovo, before it becomes an EU member.

“For Serbia, it is important to establish good cooperation with Kosovo and that a lasting modus vivendi be found,” Hauwere said.

Source:
July 22, 2010
SERBIANNA
BETA, Agencies