Current Section
Sections
Mini Sections
Serbia aims to beat EU entry 'speed record' [de]
Belgrade submitted its membership application last month with the ambition of "beating all records for fastest EU accession," but diplomats warned that there are no shortcuts to entry of the bloc.
Background
Applications for European Union membership are usually filed in a coordinated manner between the applicant country and the European Commission. With Serbia having filed its application on 22 December 2009, the only country in the Western Balkans to have not yet filed such a bid is Bosnia and Herzegovina. Kosovo, which declared independence in February 2008, is a special case as it has not been recognised by all EU countries.
The legal framework for EU-Serbia relations is the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). Belgrade was offered the agreement in April 2008 as the Union moved to boost pro-European forces ahead of crucial national elections (EurActiv 30/04/08).
Serbia ratified the SAA in September 2008 (EurActiv 09/09/08). However, the agreement is yet to enter into force. On the EU side, the Dutch government's attitude is currently the only remaining obstacle to the implementation of the SAA. Some EU member states have been pushing for the SAA to be ratified since the capture of war criminal Radovan Karadžić in July 2008 (EurActiv 22/07/08).
But Dutch officials insist they will only withdraw their veto once two other wanted war criminals, Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić, have been arrested and handed over to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). They are also awaiting confirmation from the tribunal's chief prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, of Belgrade's "full cooperation" with the court.
Serbian President Boris Tadic submitted his country's application, a five-page document, to Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt in Stockholm on 22 December.
Tadic, whose victory at the general elections last May was seen as crucial to the country's integration into Europe, said Belgrade's target date for accession was 2014.
Olli Rehn, the EU's enlargement commissioner, and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt were also present at the Stockholm ceremony, which marked the closure of Sweden's six-month presidency of the European Union.
Serbia has repeatedly been advised not to rush with its application, as the present legal framework for EU-Serbia relations, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), is yet to enter into force (EurActiv 10/02/09).
As a consequence, the EU's reaction to the event was rather low-key.
Swedish European Affairs minister Cecilia Malmström said on her blog that Serbia's EU candidacy request marked a "turning point" for Serbia and the European Union. All former Yugoslav republics are welcome to join the EU once they have met the necessary criteria, she added, stressing that there was strong consensus among EU countries on this issue.
Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said Serbia has the capacity and determination to beat all records for fastest EU accession, claiming that it will overtake many countries that are currently ahead of Belgrade on the road to the EU.
In an interview published on the Serbian government website, however, he did not give a clear indication as to whether Serbia would be able to achieve candidate status by the end of 2010.
Candidate status is granted once all EU countries have accepted the membership bid, entrusting the European Commission to submit a lengthy questionnaire to the applicant country. On the basis of the Commission's answers, they can then decide to launch accession negotiations.
So far, Croatia and Macedonia are the only countries in the Western Balkans to have reached 'candidate country' status, although accession talks with the latter have not been opened due to a bilateral dispute with Greece.
EU diplomats told EurActiv that Serbia was seen as an EU member "within the [2010-2020] decade" but no-one had ventured to suggest any dates.
'First step in a long process'
Georgi Dimitrov, Bulgaria's ambassador to Belgrade, told this website that the filing of the application was only the first step in a long process.
"We know from our own experience that from the time of application until effective membership, many years will pass, 12 years in the case of Bulgaria," he said.
Negotiation years are in fact "years of reform" for the aspiring member, Dimitrov added. Strictly speaking, the candidate country is not in a give-and-take dialogue with Brussels, he explained. Rather, it needs to take on board the entire body of EU legislation and undergo a deep transformation under EU scrutiny, he said.
The diplomat added that his country was ready to share its recent EU experiences with Serbia, "including the negative experiences," to help Belgrade to avoid making the same mistakes.
Kosovo problem still looms large
As for the specifics of Belgrade's accession bid, the ambassador admitted that Serbia faced particular challenges, in particular the need to achieve "full cooperation" with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as well as the Kosovo problem, as Serbia currently rejects the unilateral declaration of independence by its former province.
"Serbia says that the European integration process and Kosovo problem are unrelated issues. But there is of course an indirect impact. A lot would depend on the degree of attention that the international community is going to dedicate to any of these issues," Dimitrov said.
Dimitrov admitted that there had been problems with the participation of Kosovo in regional cooperation, due to Serbia's insistence that its former province be represented only under its UN title 'Kosovo under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/99'.
Asked if mutual accusations by Croatia and Serbia of genocide during the 1991-1995 wars, which have been taken to the International Court of Justice in the Hague, would further complicate Belgrade and Zagreb's accession bids, the diplomat recalled that good neighbourly relations ranks among the most important political criteria for accession.
"Without having cleared its relations with its neighbours, without developing regional cooperation, it would be very difficult to expect an advance in EU integration. All countries involved should very carefully consider the consequences of such an attitude," said Dimitrov.
Positions
US Ambassador to Kosovo Christopher Dell said on 22 December that constructive talks between Pristina and Belgrade could greatly benefit both sides in bringing the region closer to the European Union.
Dell told KiM radio that the talks necessary for the path of European integration were talks between two capitals (Belgrade and Pristina) and Brussels, the capital of Europe. Dell said it was in Brussels that the decisions would be made, and with Brussels that Kosovo and Serbia needed to talk.
Dell also believes that it is very important for the two countries to reach practical solutions that will facilitate their cooperation in a wider European context.
Practical things such as management of borders or customs issues do not demand a reopening of status negotiations and can be very constructive in the context of bringing Kosovo and Serbia closer to EU membership, Dell stated.
Belgrade's drive for EU integration will be hampered for many years by the unsolved Kosovo problem, as well as by economic and social problems, Belgrade daily Politika wrote on 5 January. Quoting a number of political analysts, Politika wrote in an op-ed that early elections are not expected in 2010, as the Serbian opposition parties have not found any subjects suitable for a political campaign.
The filing of the accession bid marks a point of no return for Serbia, writes Belgrade daily Blic. The fight against corruption will be high on the Brussels-Belgrade agenda, writes columnist Nikola M. Jovanovic, as the country will be requested to "play by the rules". This will be the most bumpy part of the country's accession road, he predicts.
Sponsors
Europeans challenge Europe