Serbien vor Widerstand gegen EU gewarnt[en][fr] 

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic announced on 15 August that he had officially requested for a motion asking for the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on whether Kosovo's declaration of independence was legal to be put before the next annual session of the UN General Assembly in mid-September. The initiative was first announced following a meeting in Moscow between Jeremic and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on 17 July (EurActiv 18/07/08). 

The proposal to have the UN seek the court's opinion requires the backing of the majority of countries that participate in the vote. The General Assembly has 191 members. If they all vote, Serbia needs the support of 96 countries. Although the Court's opinions are advisory, without binding effect, they carry substantial moral weight. Just 45 countries have recognised Kosovo so far. 

EU and UN representatives signed a memorandum on 18 August in Pristina, triggering hostile reactions from high-ranking Serbian officials that appeared inappropriate for a country eager to join the EU. The signature of the memorandum to transfer responsibilities from UNMIK to the EU mission EULEX in the areas of justice, police and customs was a low profile event, taking place behind closed doors. As a face-saving measure, the long-delayed establishment of the EU mission in Kosovo (EurActiv 29/05/08) now takes the form of a "reconfiguration" between the UN and the EU missions. But Serbia considers the EU mission illegal, because unlike UNMIK, it has not been approved by the United Nations Security Council. 

Serbia's Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic called the signing of the memorandum an "illegal act", while Foreign Minister Jeremic said it was a mistake for UNMIK to hand over policing in the province to the European Union without the consent of Serbia and the UN Security Council. Serbia's Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac said the signing was "a violation of international law". 

Kouchner sees 'contradictions' 

Earlier, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner described Belgrade's move to seize the International Court of Justice over Kosovo as "surprising", especially in view of Serbia's EU membership aspirations. 

"If that court were to declare [Kosovo's independence] illegal, it would be unusual that Serbia would want to join illegality. There is some contradiction there," Kouchner said. He added that France will actively lobby against the Belgrade initiative. This view was echoed by Stephen Wordsworth, the British Ambassador to Serbia, who warned that the move would "only make cooperation and Serbia's integration into the European Union more difficult". 

Wordsworth described Belgrade's attempts to legally annul Kosovo's secession as "dangerously misleading”, since Kosovo has now been recognised "by most [European] Union and most UN Security Council members". 

Russian connection 

Russia and Serbia are working hand-in-hand, with both questioning the legality of Kosovo's independence as well as the legal grounds of the EU mission in the former Serbian province. In an interview with last Sunday's edition of the Belgrade daily Politika, Aleksandr Konuzin, the Russian ambassador to Serbia, promised Belgrade "the most energetic support" in its opposition to EULEX, which is set to gradually become the main international supervisory body in Serbia's former province. 

Russia has repeatedly warned that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence would set a precedent for similar moves in various "frozen conflict" zones. More recently, Moscow dismissed criticism that its use of force in Georgia was disproportionate, comparing it with NATO bombardments in Serbia in 1999, which it considers much more violent. 

But it remains unclear if Belgrade would still align itself with Moscow in the long run. Diplomats suggest that Serbia may eventually abandon its hardline positions as a bargaining chip for a faster track to EU membership. 

The head of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Sonja Biserko, described Serbia's initiative to request a legal opinion on the "legality" of the declaration of independence by Kosovo as a "waste of time". In an interview with the BBC, Biserko said Kosovo's independence was recognised by the world's most important countries and Serbia cannot stop the process. "What Serbia is doing is an initiative not planned through and unattainable, because every state has the right to recognise whoever it wants, so there are no legal procedures that would prevent somebody from being recognised by another state if it wants to do so," said Biserko. 

Former Serbian Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic said a Serbian agreement with the EU on Kosovo, along with the capture and handover of the two remaining war crimes indictees sought by the Hague tribunal, would aid Serbia's accession to the EU. "If we were to eliminate those two obstacles by the end of this year or the middle of the next year, Serbia would for the first time since 2000 be in a situation to have a clear and open path to Europe," Svilanovic told the Blic daily.