[Mac]

Belgrade steps towards joining EU

Serbia and Montenegro will open talks on closer ties with the European Union later this year, the first step towards joining the EU. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said Serbia must push reforms and extradite wanted men to the UN war crimes tribunal for talks to succeed.

Visiting Belgrade, he told politicians there is "no shortcut" to the EU.

Serbia and Montenegro are among the last Balkan nations to begin "stabilisation" talks with the EU.

Talks on joining the stabilisation and association process, which offers generous financial aid and is seen as a precursor to EU entry, are now expected to begin in October.

Mr Rehn and Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica agreed to begin talks to mark the fifth anniversary of the fall of Serbia's nationalist former leader Slobodan Milosevic, the Agence France-Presse news agency reports.

Mr Milosevic, who faces genocide charges at the UN tribunal at The Hague, quit as prime minister on 6 October 2000.

Extradition crucial

"We have received a ticket to a key European match and to win in this game we must carry through precise and fast reforms," Serbian President Boris Tadic said.

Mr Rehn stressed that Serbia and Montenegro must continue a fast pace of reform, most notably in the judiciary and in efforts to combat organised crime.

In recent years Mr Kostunica has repeatedly sought closer ties to the EU and has stepped up co-operation with the tribunal.

Mr Rehn said the extradition of key figures involved in Balkan conflicts of the 1990s remains essential.

Chief among those sought are former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander, General Ratko Mladic.

Mr Mladic is widely believed to be hiding in Serbia with the aid of elements of the army and security services.

The two men have been indicted for their alleged role in the killing of up to 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, Bosnia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4456683.stm

[Khmer Rouge]

What's the point? Serbia & Montynegro are going to split soon, right?

[Clansman]

Maybe, but when they do they will just join as independent countries. Either way the Balkan states are going to join the EU just as sure as gravity keeps the earth orbiting the sun.

[Ombrageux]

They may join as soon as their institutions are liberal democratic enough. In the end, it won't even matter that Yugoslavia broke up.

[Randomizer]

Some people never learn.
Serbia was promised foreign aid after they hand over Milosevic, and when they did they got $200 mln loan, most of which was spent on paying foreign experts for the obligatory advice on how to spend it, so in the end they were left with a loan to repay and no benefit to themselves.
If after this they want more "aid" then they deserve what's coming to them.

[Stipe]

SiCG is a long long way away from EU membership. It takes more than working liberal democratic institutions (and SiCG still has much work in that area left). The state union's economy is in utter shambles and if Montenegro does vote for independence in 2006, the process will have to start all over again.

[Ombrageux]

Randomizer - Don't be too cynical. The EU has helped a lot of places, and by a lot, I mean mainly Spain, Greece, Portugal and Ireland. Right now, eastern Europe is getting our attenetion, but that will probably shift to the balkans within a decade.

[Mac]

Pro-enlargement EU statesmen predict that all states in the entire Balkan region will be members by 2014. This, I believe, is optimistic, as before economic and social requirements are to be met, the issue of extradition will have to be patched up. Milosevic's protracted trial has, if anything, demonstrated how painstaking and bureaucratic this process will be.

[Mac]

On what specific grounds are Montenegrins pushing for formal independence from Serbia? Ethnic? Cultural? Is this likely to boost their prospects for EU membership or simply prolong the process?

[Zel]

On Montenegro

Montenegro is probably the oldest of todays independence balkan states, it was able to shrug off ottoman rule much earlier than the other balkan states. As such it was able to maintain independent until it got incorporated into the SHS state after WW1.

Montenegrinian probably will, if separated from Serbia, join the EU before Serbia will. It probably wont suffer that much from Serbian nationalist parties links to war criminals. The same problems that Croatia now has also applies to Serbia if they want to join. Also Montenegro probably will get investments earlier than Serbia if separated, as foreign investments at this time see Serbia as a black hole, with almost no money flowing to the country.

The 2014 prospect probably is a bit optimistic, especially for Serbia and probably for Albania too. But somewhen during the next decade is very likely if the countries have a real wish to join.

[Balthaak]

"We have received a ticket to a key European match and to win in this game we must carry through precise and fast reforms," Serbian President Boris Tadic said.

Beeing aknowledges with the Balkan conditions, it usually means about 5-6 yrs at least. Remember, SiCg, BiH, Mac etc. are going through 'tough' reforms ever since '90...

Maybe, but when they do they will just join as independent countries. Either way the Balkan states are going to join the EU just as sure as gravity keeps the earth orbiting the sun.

Sorry, bot i don't agree completelly. If the countries do indeed separate it will be much harder for them to enter the EU. How do you thing Montenegro will survive? Tourism, mining and a little industry is all they have. EXTRA FAST DEVELOPMENT is what is needed. And that means smart, unnationalist politicians, which are few on the Balkans.

Montenegro is probably the oldest of todays independence balkan states, it was able to shrug off ottoman rule much earlier than the other balkan states.

Does this refer to P.P. Njegosh? If so, i must tell you that he himself claimed to be Serbian. Not that i deny the Montenegrian history, but that is a fact.

Montenegrinian probably will, if separated from Serbia, join the EU before Serbia will.

True under one condition - enormous subventions form the EU for tourism develpment.

[Ombrageux]

How do you thing Montenegro will survive?

Why does one need to be big to do well? By far the most wealthy part of the EU is Luxemburg.

[goupillon]

Montenegrinian probably will, if separated from Serbia, join the EU before Serbia will. It probably wont suffer that much from Serbian nationalist parties links to war criminals. The same problems that Croatia now has also applies to Serbia if they want to join. Also Montenegro probably will get investments earlier than Serbia if separated, as foreign investments at this time see Serbia as a black hole, with almost no money flowing to the country.

I certainly dont hold much hope of Serbia joining anytime soon with thier similar problems to Croatia regarding war criminals. The EU has been very strict on this, too its credit, and the human rights requirements of member states inherant in the Copenhagen criteria appear to have been put to the top of the agenda.

I just had a quick search on google and it appears Serbia have just transferred a former Yugoslav army chief to the ICC here. However i'm sure theres more where this guy came from, and Radovan Karadzic is the one the EU really wants.