Serbia gets foot in EU door but warned on Kosovo
(BRUSSELS) - Serbia took a first key step in the long road to European Union membership Wednesday but was warned it must patch up its fraught relations with Kosovo before advancing further.
In a year that saw Balkans nations move decisively closer to Europe, with Croatia due to become the 28th member of the bloc, the EU executive called for the opening of membership talks with Montenegro and for Serbia to become an official candidate -- leaving Belgrade a step behind Podgorica.
Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia failed to make the grade, the European Commission said.
In its much-awaited yearly review of EU wannabes, it announced it favoured "granting EU candidate status to Serbia" -- the opening step in the gruelling path to full membership.
The proposal, which will need unanimous approval by the 27 EU states, follows Belgrade's handover to the UN war crimes court this year of fugitives Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic after 16 years on the run.
"The arrest of the two remaining ICTY indictees removed a major stumbling block from Serbia's European path and marked an important step toward reconciliation in the region," the commission said in its report.
But the EU's enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele coupled the breakthrough with a warning to Serbia to renew efforts to defuse tension with Kosovo, its southern province which broke away and declared independence three years ago.
The recommendation came "on the understanding that Serbia re-engages in the dialogue with Kosovo," Fuele said.
EU-sponsored talks between the two sides that raised huge hopes when begun in March have broken down amid violence in northern Kosovo, which is home to a Serb majority loyal to Belgrade.
The talks are aimed at ending everyday headaches for ordinary people over the independence quarrel -- the breakdown in phone networks, transport and postal services as well as confusion over land records and university degrees.
In Belgrade, President Boris Tadic said "I am proud" of the success and said Serbia hoped to resolve problems with Kosovo over customs controls and border crossings.
Though Serbia walked out of the EU-brokered talks, European leaders are urging Kosovo to do more to reassure the Serb community living within its borders.
"While the integration of Kosovo Serbs has improved in the south, tensions in northern Kosovo have increased," the commission said in its report. "It is of utmost importance that Kosovo launches a comprehensive agenda for the north."
Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who is specially familiar with the Balkans, said this week that "the authorities in Pristina have failed to gain the confidence of their citizens in northern Kosovo.
"At the end of the day, it's the duty of Pristina to gain the confidence of all of their citizens," he said. "I would urge Pristina to do far more, to reach out to their minorities."
Kosovo itself was urged to address crime, corruption and judicial reform, while Albania was told to end a political stalemate to move ahead on the EU integration path.
In a year that saw Europe wind up accession talks with Croatia, there was good news also for Montenegro.
The commission urged the opening of EU accession talks, commending Montenegro for progress in fighting corruption and organised crime and saying it had made "good progress" in working to meet the stiff legislative and political standards set by the EU for eventual membership.
Macedonia likewise was commended for progress but remains stuck outside the EU due to a squabble with Greece over its name.
Bosnia was chided for a yearlong political deadlock that has prevented work on its planned reforms.