Skip to main content

EU to move ahead on Serbia accession, add tough conditions

EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday (25 October) will invite the European Commission to submit its opinion on Serbia's application for EU membership. But the ministers' conclusions, seen by WAZ.EUobserver, are to say bluntly that Serbia cannot go further toward EU accession without the arrest of war crimes suspects Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic and a constructive approach in the upcoming dialogue with Kosovo.

Source: EU Observer: http://euobserver.com

After two nights of long and tiring talks, the representatives of 26 EU countries and the Netherlands on Friday agreed the final text of the ministers' communique.

The compromise consists of several elements: Ministers will voice strong support for Serbian president Boris Tadic; they will say Belgrade's attitude toward Kosovo is a key condition for further Serbian EU integration; and they will make clear Serbia cannot obtain official EU candidate status unless all EU member states, including the Netherlands, agree on a positive assessment of its co-operation with the Hague War Crimes Tribunal (ICTY), based on ICTY chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz' reports.

The conclusions on Serbia include five paragraphs.

After recalling that, on 22 December 2009, President Tadic presented the application for EU entry, the first paragraph says: "The Council decided to implement the procedure laid down in Article 49 of the Treaty on the European Union. Accordingly, the Commission is invited to submit its opinion." Preparation of the opinion or 'avis' normally takes at least one year and is the first step to a country being granted formal candidate status.

The second paragraph recalls the statement at an EU summit in December 2006 that the future of the Western Balkans lies in the European Union. It reiterates that each country's progress toward the EU depends on its individual efforts to comply with the Copenhagen Criteria and conditions spelled out in the so-called Stabilisation and Association Process. The Copenhagen Criteria is a text dating back to 1993 which says EU-aspirant countries must conform with democratic, legal and economic EU norms.

In the third paragraph, the EU introduces as a new condition Serbia's attitude in the Kosovo talks: "The Council reiterates that a constructive approach towards regional co-operation is essential. The Council also calls for progress in the process of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, under the facilitation of the EU and its High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, welcomed in the United Nations General Assembly resolution of 9 September 2010 as a factor for peace, security and stability in the region."

The last two paragraphs are dedicated to Serbia's co-operation with the ICTY. The EU underlines that "no further steps of Serbia's path towards EU accession will be taken unless the Council unanimously decides that full co-operation with the ICTY exists or continues to exist."

Furthermore, the Council calls upon Serbia to implement recommendations presented by the ICTY prosecutor to the UN Security Council in June „concerning Serbia's support in ongoing trials and appeals and Serbia's assistance in the key matter of the arrest of the two remaining fugitives, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadžic, which would be the most convincing proof of Serbia's efforts and cooperation with the ICTY. The EU will continue to regularly monitor the cooperation with the ICTY. The EU and its Member States recall their readiness to assist Serbia in this respect."

Comments

  1. Irrefutable Proof ICTY Is Corrupt Court/Irrefutable Proof the Hague Court Cannot
    Legitimately Prosecute Karadzic Case

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lpcyusa
    (The Documentary Secret United Nations ICC Meeting Papers Scanned Images)

    http://sites.google.com/site/jillstarrsite/irrefutable-proof-icty-is-corrupt-court-irrefutable-proof-the-hague-court-cannot-legitimately-prosecute-karadzic-case/irrefutableproofictyiscorruptcourtirrefutableproofthehaguecourtcannotlegitimatelyprosecutekaradziccase

    This legal technicality indicates the Hague must dismiss charges against Dr Karadzic and
    others awaiting trials in the Hague jail; like it or not.

    Unfortunately for the Signatures Of the Rome Statute United Nations member states
    instituting the ICC & ICTY housed at the Hague, insofar as the, Radovan Karadzic, as
    with the other Hague cases awaiting trial there, I personally witnessed these United
    Nations member states having a substantial conversation and openly speaking about trading judicial appointments and verdicts for financial funding when I attended the 2001 ICC Preparatory Meetings at the UN in
    Manhattan making the iCTY and ICC morally incapable trying Radovan Karazdic and
    others.

    I witnessed with my own eyes and ears when attending the 2001 Preparatory Meetings to
    establish an newly emergent International Criminal Court, the exact caliber of criminal
    corruption running so very deeply at the Hague, that it was a perfectly viable topic of
    legitimate conversation in those meetings I attended to debate trading verdicts AND
    judicial appointments, for monetary funding.

    Jilly wrote:*The rep from Spain became distraught and when her country’s proposal was
    not taken to well by the chair of the meeting , then Spain argued in a particularly loud
    and noticably strongly vocal manner, “Spain (my country) strongly believes if we
    contribute most financial support to the Hague’s highest court, that ought to give us and
    other countries feeding it financially MORE direct power over its
    decisions.”

    ((((((((((((((((((((((((( ((((((((((((((((((((((((( Instead of censoring the country representative
    from Spain for even bringing up this unjust, illegal and unfair judicial idea of bribery for
    international judicial verdicts and judicial appointments, all country representatives
    present in the meeting that day all treated the Spain proposition as a ”totally legitimate
    topic” discussed and debated it between each other for some time. I was quite shocked!
    The idea was "let's discuss it." "It's a great topic to discuss."

    Some countries agreed with Spain’s propositions while others did not. The point here is,
    bribery for judicial verdicts and judicial appointments was treated as a totally legitimate
    topic instead of an illegitimate toic which it is in the meeting that I
    attended in 2001 that day to establish the ground work for a newly emergent
    international criminal court.))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

    In particular., since "Spain" was so overtly unafraid in bringing up this topic of trading
    financial funding the ICC for influence over its future judicial appointments and verdicts
    in front of every other UN member state present that day at the UN, "Spain" must have
    already known by previous experience the topic of bribery was "socially acceptable" for
    conversation that day. They must have previously spoke about bribing the ICTY and ICC
    before in meetings; this is my take an international sociological honor student.

    SPAIN's diplomatic gesture of international justice insofar as, Serbia, in all of this is,
    disgusting morally!

    SPAIN HAS TAUGHT THE WORLD THE TRUE DEFINITION OF AN
    "INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT."

    I represented the state interests' of the Former Yugoslavia, in Darko Trifunovic’s
    absence in those meetings and I am proud to undertake this effort on Serbia’s behalf.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christmas Greeting

Corruption Scandal on the Sale of Schengen Visas in Malta discussed in the European Parliament

Ivan Grech Mintoff (leader of the ECPM-Member Party Alleanza Bidla) presented in the Maltese court  a transcript of the testimonies of several Libyans who claimed that in 2015, they bought an unknown number of humanitarian medical visas from an official in the Office of the of the Maltese Prime Minister. These medical visas are not supposed to be sold. Following an agreement between Malta and Libya, they are issued for free. The documents submitted in the court also claim that Schengen visas were illicitly sold at the Maltese Consulate in Tripoli over a period of 14 months (in 2013 and 2014). In this period, 88000 Schengen Visas (300 visas per day including Saturdays and Sundays) have been sold. This illegal scheme could have earned the perpetrators millions of euros.  Although the Consulate in Tripoli has closed, it is unclear if this practice has stopped or is still continuing via other countries or Malta up to today. On the 27th of June, ECPM invited Mr Mintoff to the European P

Should surrogacy be banned?

A short review of the ethical and human rights issues related to surrogacy Introduction   On the 2 nd and the 3 rd of May the organization ‘Men having Babies’ (MHB) organized a controversial meeting in Brussels. MHB is an LGBTI (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual and Intersex) friendly organization that wants to enable gay couples to have children. Of course this is naturally impossible, so they use the services of surrogate mothers who carry the child of one of the men. Simply by browsing on their website  you can see that for a bit more than 100000 US dollars you can proceed with 'obtaining' your own child. Usually these processes take place in developing countries like India. Lately, many groups and movements (especially those that are LGBTI related) are pushing for a legal framework that allows and facilitates surrogacy. For example, the rapporteur on a report on surrogacy by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE); someone who supposedly has