Deutsche Welle, 18 December 2013
Serbia has
taken a step closer to joining the European Union. The bloc has set a date for
the start of accession talks in recognition of Belgrade's democratic reforms
and efforts in normalizing relations with Kosovo.
The
European Union will begin long-awaited membership talks with Serbia on January
21, the bloc's Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle announced following a
meeting in Brussels on Tuesday.
The EU
ministers for European Affairs had "acknowledged [Serbia's] reform and
normalization efforts," Füle wrote on Twitter. "First
intergovernmental conference planned for 21 January."
Serbia has
long hoped to become the bloc's 29th member, following in the footsteps of
neighbor Croatia which was granted membership in July.
"This
is an historic event for Serbia, a day that many generations of citizens and
numerous governments have awaited," Prime Minister Ivica Dacid said on the
national RTS TV network.
"I am
proud that this government reached it," he added.
European
leaders were insistent, however, that the former pariah state first normalize
relations with Kosovo. The two nations have been at odds since Kosovo broke
away from Belgrade, unilaterally declaring independence in 2008.
Serbia -
alongside five other EU states - still refuses to recognize Kosovo's
independence.
Months of EU-brokered talks resulted in an agreement in April, however, which aimed at
ending conflict between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority and a pocket of some
50,000 Serbs in the north.
In a
further sign of reform, ethic Serbs took part in a local election in northern Kosovo for the first time in November.
While
Tuesday's announcement marks a significant step forward, the process for
joining the bloc can take years. Of the five other nations once part of the
former Yugoslavia, only Slovenia and Croatia have been granted membership.
ccp/av (AFP, Reuters, dpa)
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