We can't bluff our way to Brussels

At last, there is good news from Luxembourg. The European Union Foreign Affairs Council has agreed to forward Serbia’s application to join the EU to the European Commission. The decision was approved by a unanimous vote in spite of pressure exerted by the Netherlands, which wants to make the initiative conditional on the arrest of Ratko Mladic, accused of genocide and numerous war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

However, the firm line adopted by the Netherlands was also taken into account.

The EU member states are insisting that every stage of the accession process be approved by all of the EU’s national governments and that Serbia cooperate fully with the ICTY. In other words, Belgrade will have to arrest Ratko Mladic and the other war crimes fugitives.

Euphoria will likely be short-lived

The ball is now in Serbia’s court, and not only regarding Mladic’s arrest. In a questionnaire shortly to be dispatched to Belgrade, Serbia will be required to outline the measures it has taken to fulfill the political and economic criteria for EU accession, and in particular give details of how it plans to combat corruption and establish a dialogue with Kosovo.

As the former European Commissioner for Englargement, Štefan Füle, pointed out, European leaders support for Serbian accession also implies that a lot is expected of Belgrade. So the euphoria in the wake of yesterday’s announcement will likely be short-lived. If Serbia is not to remain an aspiring member of the EU forever, we will have move quickly to introduce profound change, and overcome the many difficulties that this will involve.

In the light of its less than happy experience of Bulgarian and Romanian enlargement, Brussels is adamant that their will be no backdoor left open for Serbia. In short, there is no possibility of bluffing our way into the European Union.

Opinion

Serbia is now at the gates

"This is an historic day for Serbia", Serb journalistJasmina Tesanovic proclaimsin La Stampa. “After 20 years of sanctions, isolation and legalised crime, Serbia is now at the gates of the Union, with legal standards in place on anti-racism, the judicial system, human rights and war crimes." On its long road to Europe back in the early 2000s, Belgrade seemed to be getting off to a good start, but then, after the assassination of prime minister Zoran Djindjic in 2003, the complications set in: a "new nationalism" was born, uniting "Greater Serbia" die-hards with orthodox fanatics in the fight against Kosovo’s independence. That nationalism can still do damage, as we saw at the Gay Pride parade in Belgrade andthe Italy-Serbia football match. "The EU is Serbia’s last chance to come to grips with this domestic evil that has been festering for ten years. Call it homophobia, hooliganism, war crimes, corruption," writes Tesanovic: “the guiding thread leads to the Tribunal [International Criminal Tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia] in The Hague, which has given the go-ahead for Serbia in Europe. That is a wise decision, seeing as Serbia is located in the middle of Europe: better to make Serbia part of Europe than run the risk of Europe’s becoming like Serbia."