EU Deal 'Signed with Serbia, without Kosovo'
Karel De Gucht 06 May 2008 Belgrade _ EU and Belgrade officials have criticised Belgiums Foreign Minister for saying the EU pre-membership deal was signed with Serbia alone, without Kosovo. My understanding is that we signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, SAA, with Serbia alone, without Kosovo, said Karel De Gucht. In Belgrade, Serbias Minister for Kosovo, Slobodan Samardzic said De Guchts words confirmed what Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has been saying all along. Samardzic, of Kostunicas nationalist Democratic Party of Serbia, DSS, said the statement proved that the signing of the SAA in fact meant signing off Kosovos independence. Serbias Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, however, said De Guchts remarks were for internal political use only. Belgium joined Netherlands in opposing Serbias signing of the SAA, widely seen as the first step toward EU membership, until Belgrade is deemed to be fully cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, based in The Hague. The two countries eventually gave in and accepted to sign the deal on April 29, although Belgrade will only gain benefits of the deal when there is cooperation with The Hague Tribunal. Belgium opposed the SAA with Serbia and De Guchts words therefore have an exclusive domestic political purpose, Jeremic said. In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana's spokeswoman Cristina Gallach also criticised De Guchts statement, saying that the SAA signed with Serbia has a neutral stand towards Kosovos status. The SAAs text which Kostunicas cabinet unanimously agreed to initial last November, stipulates that Kosovo is under United Nations administration as per UN Security Council Resolution 1244, passed at the end of the 1998-1999 conflict between Serb forces and Kosovos ethnic Albanian majority. In the SAAs article 135, it says the treaty does not deal with the status of Kosovo, Serbias former southern province, which declared independence on February 17. The signing of the SAA, however, prompted a bitter row in Belgrade between pro-European and nationalist politicians who are about to face each other in early general elections due on Sunday. The main topic dominating the election campaign is Serbias future links with the EU, with pro-Europeans pushing for closer ties with Brussels, arguing Serbias interests will be best defended within the bloc, while nationalists say Serbia should not join the EU unless it accepts Kosovo as a part of Serbia. Copyrights © 2007 Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. Contact <http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/info/5850/> Terms and Conditions <http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/info/5503/> of Use [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ =============== Group Moderator: [Е-ПОШТА ЗАШТИЋЕНА] page at http://magazine.sorabia.net for more informations about current situation in Serbia http://www.sorabia.net Slusajte GLAS SORABIJE nas talk internet-radio (Serbian Only) http://radio.sorabia.net Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sorabia/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sorabia/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[Е-ПОШТА ЗАШТИЋЕНА] mailto:[Е-ПОШТА ЗАШТИЋЕНА] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [Е-ПОШТА ЗАШТИЋЕНА] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
