Serbia Deal

EU "to sign Serbia deal" on ties

The EU will sign a pact on closer ties with Serbia on Tuesday, according to the Slovenian EU presidency.

The Serbian president is expected to fly to Luxembourg to sign the accord, after objections from Belgium and the Netherlands were overcome.

Both countries insisted that Belgrade must fully co-operate with the Hague war crimes tribunal before Serbia enjoys the benefits of a pact.

But they add Serbia should be sent a positive message before May elections. Nationalist parties are ahead in the opinion polls, following Kosovo's declaration of independence and its recognition by a majority of EU member states.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic who was in Luxembourg told reporters that it was a "historic day for Serbia and the EU."

"We believe we are irreversibly on the road to EU membership," he said.

Signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) would not only pave the way to full membership but give Serbs closer trade relations and more relaxed visa requirements.

But the Netherlands and Belgium objected to Serbia being rewarded with a deal before it was considered to have fully co-operated with the war-crimes tribunal.

They insist that Serbia should hand over two war crimes suspects wanted in connection with the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica: Bosnian Serb ex-army leader Ratko Mladic and war-time political leader Radovan Karadzic.

A spokesman for Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen told the BBC News website on Tuesday that the signing of an SAA and an interim accord to implement the details of it could take place but only if the agreements were "simultaneously suspended".

"If anything is signed today, it will have to mean that Serbia will not enjoy any of the benefits of the SAA," the spokesman said.

But he added that would change as soon as the foreign ministers were happy that Belgrade was co-operating fully with the tribunal.

(Published by BBC News 29, 2008)