Deutsche Welle, 29 June 2013
The former Yugoslav republic of Serbia will begin negotiating its potential entry into the European Union following a decision during a two-day EU summit. Leaders said talks would start in January 2014 "at the latest."
The former Yugoslav republic of Serbia will begin negotiating its potential entry into the European Union following a decision during a two-day EU summit. Leaders said talks would start in January 2014 "at the latest."
Serbia has
come a long way since the civil Yugoslav strife and wars of the 1990s, having
been earmarked for negotiations to join the European Union at this week's EU
summit. The two-day conference ended on Friday, with Serb leaders getting the
green light for EU entry talks.
"We
are at a historic moment for the Balkans and for Europe as a whole,"
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said on Friday, noting that the
decision came just days before Croatia is set to join the European Union on
Monday.
The summit
leaders agreed talks with Serbia would start in January 2014 "at the very
latest." This week's decision reflects a change in how Serbia is viewed,
no longer considered a pariah over its role in the wars that plagued the
Balkans in the 1990s.
Improved
relations
The EU
summit decision applauds Belgrade's move to improve relations with its former
province of Kosovo, which seceded in 2008. The two nations had suffered
strained relations since the secession, but EU-brokered talks brought the two
sides together in April, resulting in an agreement to normalize relations.
In giving
Serbia a potential nod toward membership, the EU summit leaders also agreed
that Brussels should hold talks with Kosovo over an association agreement
covering trade, economic and political relations as a first step on the path to
EU membership down the road.
"These
... decisions are an immediate result of the courageous agreement Belgrade and
Pristina reached last April," Van Rompuy said.
Celebrations
and opponents
Serbian
leaders were quick to respond positively to the news of pending EU accession
talks.
Prime
Minister Ivica Dacic, leader of the co-ruling Socialists and ex-spokesman for
late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, said his government had worked hard
for the EU bid.
"The
date for [EU] accession talks is the first step of this great journey we are
about to undertake," Dacic said in a live broadcast of a cabinet session.
In
Belgrade, meanwhile, nationalists opposed to EU accession rallied peacefully
against the decision.
Dacic said
he hoped the membership talks could be finished within four or five years, but
many believe Brussels will put off Serbian admittance until at least 2020.
Croatia,
set to join the EU on Monday, for example, endured 10 years of tough membership
negotiations.
tm/ccp (AP, AFP, Reuters)
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