EU ministers back Commission on Serbia and Montenegro talks

The EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council on May 15 "regretted that Serbia and Montenegro was still not fully cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and therefore supported the Commission’s decision to call off the negotiating round on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement scheduled for 11 May".

But the Council repeated its "firm commitment to the European perspective of Serbia and Montenegro", and indicated its support to resume negotiations as soon as full cooperation with the ICTY is achieved. Once again, it urged the authorities in Belgrade to ensure that all remaining fugitive indictees of the ICTY, notably Ratko Mladić, are brought to justice without further delay.

"If the necessary conditions are met and negotiations can resume rapidly, the Council underlines that a swift conclusion of the negotiations according to the timetable envisaged by the Commission [by the end of 2006] is still within reach", Foreign Affairs Ministers at the Council agreed.Looking ahead to the Montenegro referendum on secession from the State Union, scheduled for May 21, ministers emphasised the importance of a fair and orderly process, and called on both sides to comply with the referendum law and provisions, to refrain from unilateral actions during the further stages of the process, and to accept the outcome of a legitimately conducted referendum. They also stressed the importance of ensuring that the voters in Montenegro can make a free and informed choice between distinct alternatives and can freely express their will, without any undue interference. "Direct talks between Belgrade and Podgorica on the way ahead will be needed in the aftermath of the referendum, whatever the outcome", the Council concluded.

Source: Enlargement Newsletter, 22nd May 2006