Dutch parliament backs down over Mladic
http://www.nrc.nl/international/article2....own_over_Mladic <http://www.nrc.nl/international/article2411901.ece/Dutch_parliament_backs_down_over_Mladic> The Netherlands will no longer stand in the way of closer ties between Serbia and the European Union. he Netherlands has long blocked the signing of a stabilisation and association agreement between the European Union and Serbia, the first step towards EU accession talks. The Hague felt Belgrade was not fully cooperating with the UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), specifically in arresting the former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic. The three parties of the ruling coalition in the Dutch parliament (Christian Democrats, Labour and the orthodox Christian party ChristenUnie) now say there are clear signs of positive developments in Serbia. The Netherlands still feels EU accession talks can only begin when Serbia fully collaborates with the tribunal, but it is willing to let the tribunal's main prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, be the judge of that. Brammertz is expected to issue a new report on Serbian cooperation with the tribunal on December 3. Foreign minister Maxime Verhagen said the Netherlands will reevaluate its position based on Brammertz' findings. Verhagen said he expected Brammertz' report to be positive. In anticipation of the report Verhagen agreed earlier this year to relax visa rules for Serbian students and to grant Serbia certain trade benefits within
