Western Balkans and EU - Part 33
[ Western Balkans and EU ]
EU Enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said yesterday - one day after the arrest of war crimes suspect Zdravko Tolimir at the border between Serbia and BiH (Republika Srpska) and a few days after the escape of war crimes prisoner Radovan Stankovic in BiH - that the EU would resume SAA talks with Serbia - probably in June: "On the basis of a very careful and extensive assessment, the [European Commission] can resume the negotiations on the Stabilization and Association Agreement [with Serbia]." (cf. RFE/RL, Der Standard, Der Spiegel).The SAA talks had been suspended in May 2006 because of Serbia's failure to co-operate with the ICTY.
Tolimir was no. 3 on the ICTY list of "wanted" suspects. Other war crime suspects still on this list: Mladic, Karadzic, ex-President of the Krajina Goran Hadzic, Bosnian-Serbian politician Stojan Zupljanin, and Serbian police officer Vlastimir Djordjevic.
The decision to resume SAA talks with Serbia was taken "despite differing views on the Kosovo question", according to A. Merkel.
The Frankfurter Rundschau comments this as an attempt to show Serbia the European perspective hoping for a compromise on Kosovo: "Merkel hat jetzt nochmal versucht, ihm (Tadic) die europäische Perspektive zu verdeutlichen, falls es einen Kosovo-Kompromiss gibt."
Photo: Merkel (German EU-Presidency) and Tadic; Source: eu2007.de
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