• English Site
• > Fishwrap

The World from Berlin

'The EU Has Built a Bridge to Serbia'

The European Union signed an agreement with Serbia on Tuesday that paves the way for future EU membership. The move comes only a few months after relations soured over Kosovo's independence and a few days before crucial elections in Serbia. German newspapers on Wednesday wonder if Brussels gave too much too soon.

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic signed a pre-membership accord with the European Union in Luxembourg on Tuesday with the EU's 27 foreign ministers and foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.

The move has been interpreted as a show of support for the pro-Western party of Serbian President Boris Tadic, as it faces parliamentary elections on May 11 against tough nationalist opposition. The pact will, however, only be fully implemented if Serbia cooperates with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in The Hague, Netherlands.

The EU is still demanding that Belgrade hand over several Serbian war crimes suspects, including ex-Bosnian Serb leaders Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, accused of involvement in the murder of 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995.

Belgium and the Netherlands initially blocked the deal because of this lagging noncompliance. However, this week they softened their stance, settling for a compromise resolution that would make Serbia's cooperation with the tribunal a necessary requirement for further steps towards EU membership. The Dutch foreign minister, Maxime Verhagen, said that the "best proof" for Serbian cooperation would be the delivery of at-large war criminals to The Hague for trial.

After the agreement was signed on Tuesday, Serbia's pro-Western President Tadic said that Serbia "would like to become an official candidate by the end of the year." Tadic also said that he hoped the signing of the pre-membership accord would ease the impact of anti-EU parties in the run-up to parliamentary elections on May 11. "Many enemies of our European future are engaged in scare-mongering," Tadic said, alluding to Serbia's hardline Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who called the pact "an act against the constitution and the state and as such illegal and illegitimate." Javier Solana, the head of EU foreign policy, called the signing a "very important day" for Serbia and for Europe.

The pact, known officially as a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), places Belgrade firmly on the path to EU candidacy and, if ratified, will grant Serbs eased visa requirements and closer trade relations with EU member states. The deal would also see increased aid and sharing of technical information between the EU and Serbia. "We have sent today a very strong signal from the EU to Serbia and the Serb people ... that the EU wants Serbia to join the European family," said Dimitrij Rupel, foreign minister of Slovenia, which currently holds the EU presidency.

Ahead of the May 11 elections, nationalist parties are leading in opinion polls in Serbia, owing primarily to lingering bitterness over Kosovo's declaration of independence and the subsequent and swift recognition of the new state by the majority of EU-member nations and the United States.

German newspapers on Wednesday react to the signing with doubts over Belgrade's intentions, the wisdom of Europe's offer, and how relations with Russia might play a role in the future of the agreement.

The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes:

"Just over a week before parliamentary elections in Serbia, the EU has built a bridge to the Balkan country -- but one that could immediately be blocked. The pre-membership accord, which the foreign ministers finally signed after much hesitation, comes with conditions. But no one talks about this openly. The pact will only go ahead if the 'right ones,' President Tadic's pro-Western party, wins. If the nationalists win, however, which looks likely, getting onto that bridge would not only be forbidden, it might even be dismantled."

"Serbia is thus faced with the most important election since the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic. The alternatives are not the EU or Kosovo -- because Kosovo has been irretrievably lost. The alternatives are Europe or self-isolation. Reaching out with the pre-membership accord is the EU's delayed attempt to make Serbia's decision a bit easier. But it might be too late."

The conservative daily Die Welt writes:

"The EU, when it comes to the Balkans, is more dependent on Serbia than vice versa. Austria and the Netherlands are demanding the extradition of war criminals -- hiding somewhere in Serbia -- before the pre-membership accord goes into force. The accord is held out as a sort of candy-reward for good behavior. But it's hard to predict what will happen after the parliamentary elections in a few days."

"The Serbs have been pushed all over the place between the EU and Russia, between openness to the West and self-pity, and gambled away Yugoslavia in repeated wars. Finally, Kosovo won its independence with the help of the West, and to the disgruntlement of Russia. Belgrade knows how to play its Russia card: its entire energy network recently came under the auspices of Gazprom."

"Serbia is the geopolitical hub of the western Balkans. Without their involvement the security of the entire region hangs in the air. Yet the old demons are still at play. Besides a retraction of goodwill, the EU has no real leverage -- besides offering membership in the club."

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"The European signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement with Serbia is without any practical value. Maybe the signing will help improve reformer Boris Tadic's reputation among his countrymen, who would like to leave the dark days of Serb nationalism behind. Maybe the agreement will win the moderate bloc a few more votes in the upcoming elections."

"But it won't change any of the real problems. The Serbs are still not jumping through hoops to help the war crimes tribunal. And the argument over Kosovo is far from over. So it's not especially smart of the EU to squander all its carrots and sticks on the uncertain hope for a few more democratic-leaning votes in Belgrade -- particularly when they'll need that later, when things really get difficult."

The business daily Handelsblatt writes:

"A little bit of carrot, a little bit of stick. By singing the accord on Tuesday the European Union has sent a double message to Serbia: They are ready to help the country on the way to membership, but only if it works together with the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Former General Ratko Mladic is still roaming free because Serbian authorities are protecting him. Serbia now has the choice to vouch unreservedly for EU norms and values or to search for its future outside of the Union."

-- R. Jay Magill Jr., 1 p.m. CET