http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1a2fea42-aa16-11db-83b0-0000779e2340,dwp_uuid=70662e7c-3027-11da-ba9f-00000e2511c8,_i_rssPage=70662e7c-3027-11da-ba9f-00000e2511c8.html
Serbian poll clears way for rapprochement By Daniel Dombey in Brussels Published: January 22 2007 12:46 | Last updated: January 22 2007 12:46 Serbia's elections could clear the way for a coalition government that could heal the rift between Belgrade and the west, European Union officials said on Monday. Diplomats at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels said the relatively strong showing of President Boris Tadic's pro-European Democrats increased the likelihood of a Serb government with which the west could do business. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German foreign minister, who chaired the EU meeting in Brussels, welcomed the result of the elections. "The democratic forces have the clear lead," he said, referring to the combined support for several moderate parties. "We support a reform oriented pro-european Serbian government.." Although the far-right Radical party came top of the poll, EU officials are confident that it will be excluded from power. They also anticipate that the Democrats are likely to head the new Serb government instead of outgoing prime minister Vojislav Kostunica, a moderate nationalist who proved a frustrating interlocutor for the EU. At the top of the agenda are talks on an association agreement between Serbia and the EU, widely seen as a waystation to eventual Serbian membership. The EU suspended the talks last year because of Serbia's alleged lack of cooperation in sending Gen Ratko Mladic, the country's most notorious war crimes suspect, to the war crimes tribunal in the Hague. But since that time, officials such as Javier Solana, EU high representative, have worried that Belgrade's estrangement from the west could deepen, condemning the country to becoming a source of instability in the heart of Europe. Germany hopes that the EU meeting on Monday will agree to open the way for a resumption in the talks -- if the new Serbia government demonstrates its resolve to deal with Mr Mladic. The issue is particularly sensitive right now, because of the unresolved status of the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo, which is currently administered by the EU. Martti Ahtisaari, a UN special envoy, is expected to recommend in the next few days that Kosovo be granted "supervised independence" -- a position backed by the west but furiously resisted by Belgrade. In such circumstances, many EU governments are anxious that the bloc be perceived as offering Serbia a way out of its isolation. Britain and France, which have previously resisted relaxing the EU's position, have signalled they could back the reopening of talks -- although the Netherlands has been holding out against such a stance. Mr Mladic has been indicted for his part in Europe's worst post-world war II atrocity, the Srebrenica massacre of 1995, in which up to 8,000 people died. The Netherlands, which is both home to the International Criminal Tribunal on the former Yugoslavia and sent UN peacekeepers to Srebrenica, feels strongly about the issue. But last November, the Netherlands, the US and the UK performed a last minute U-turn and agreed to allow Serbia into Nato's Partnership for Peace, in a move that took Belgrade closer to Nato membership. Many officials argue that the EU is likely to follow suit eventually. +++ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
