Serbia determined to join EU

Following the arrest of Radovan Karadžić, the Foreign Minister of Serbia, Vuk Jeremić, has said that his country is determined to join the EU and that it wants to obtain the status of a candidate country by the end of the year. Jeremić re-stated his country’s determination to preserve its territorial integrity and to regain control over Kosovo. He said that Serbia had demonstrated its support for international law by handing over Karadžić but that it expected international law to be respected over Kosovo too. Asked about the arrest of Ratko Mladić, Jeremić gave a very strong hint that it would happen soon. He said, though, that he expected countries which are in any case opposed to Serbia’s accession to come up with new pretexts to stop it, even after a future Mladić arrest. Jeremić also confirmed that Serbia will apply in the autumn at the UN General Assembly for a ruling from the International Court of Justice in The Hague (the United Nations’ court of arbitration, not a criminal tribunal) on whether or not Kosovo’s declaration of independence is legal under international law. Its case is strong, since of course it is UN Security Council Resolution 1244 from 1999 which reaffirmed that Kosovo is part of Serbia. Jeremić said that he could not imagine the General Assembly refusing the agree to such a request for a ruling from the ICJ. Some Western states are trying to prevent Serbia’s request from being granted. Jeremić said, “Serbia is under strong pressure to respect international law where the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is concerned. We should therefore not be prevented from seeking protection from international law where Kosovo is concerned.” Jeremić was also asked why Serbia had decided to send its ambassadors back to those countries which have recognised the independence Kosovo: they had been recalled to Belgrade for extensive consultations by the previous government. He replied that an intensive diplomatic effort was needed to achieve the goal of obtaining candidate status by the end of the year. He also said that Belgrade hoped to undertake dialogue with the secessionist authorities in Kosovo by putting aside for a while the question of status. Jeremić repeated Belgrade’s refusal to accept the legitimacy of the EU mission in Kosovo, which is not legitimised by any UN resolution and which implements the very Ahtisaari plan which Belgrade rejected. On the other hand, he also said that he was ready to work with the new international authority in Kosovo, i.e. with EULEX. [Interview, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 25 July 2008]

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