Will Serbia's bid to join the EU help shed its pariah status?
| Stockholm
Serbia鈥檚 president on Tuesday handed over his country鈥檚 application to join the European Union and vowed Belgrade would continue to hunt down and capture war criminals wanted by an international tribunal.
Serbia鈥檚 bid to become a member of the 27-nation bloc hinges on its cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia. Several EU countries have said Serbia must first arrest fugitives from the Balkan wars, including former Bosnian Serb general Radko Mladic.
鈥淲e are doing everything that is possible to arrest them,鈥� President Boris Tadic told reporters in Stockholm. 鈥淚f they are on Serbian soil they will be captured.鈥�
Tadic submitted Serbia鈥檚 formal application for membership to EU expansion commissioner Olli Rehn and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. Sweden holds the EU鈥檚 rotating presidency. Tadic said it was 鈥渁 historic day鈥� for his country.
Serbia has been encouraged by recent EU decisions to unblock a pre-entry agreement with Belgrade and abolish a visa regime for its citizens.
Tadic said his country is both ready and determined to honor the commitments and values of the EU. However, he noted there are 鈥渃hallenges鈥� in the relationship with the EU, including differing views on the independence of Kosovo, a former Serbian province.
鈥淲e are going to solve those challenges, but it doesn鈥檛 mean that we are going to recognize Kosovo鈥檚 independence,鈥� Tadic said. 鈥淲e are going to continue our efforts in defending out territorial integrity and sovereignty by using only diplomatic and legal instruments.鈥�
Reinfeldt said the application in itself 鈥渕arks a new beginning for Serbia, it reflects strong determination of its government and it has widespread popular support in Serbia.鈥�
He reminded Tadic, however, that the road to membership is long and demanding.
鈥淚t will require bold decisions and major reform, but I am confident that Serbia can and will meet the conditions necessary,鈥� he said.
Reinfeldt said the biggest challenges for Serbia鈥檚 bid to join the EU included completing reforms and finding and arresting war criminals.
Analysts in Belgrade said that Serbia鈥檚 application was important because it clearly envisions the troubled country鈥檚 future after years of nationalism, wars, and international pariah status.
The candidacy is a major boost for the pro-Western government which has sought to move the country closer to the EU amid constant challenge from nationalists, who remain influential and strong even years after the war ended.
鈥淲hat we are submitting today is not just a candidacy,鈥� said Sonja Liht, a prominent human rights activist and an adviser in the country鈥檚 Foreign Ministry. 鈥淲ith this candidacy, our society is stating that it wants to become a member of the European Union.鈥�
鈥淚t will be a complicated procedure, but it is the procedure that can no longer be reversed,鈥� she said.
