The Presidency of the European Union welcomes the announcement today (7 June) by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso that the negotiations with Serbia on a Stabilization and Association Agreement will be resumed as early as next week. This step was made possible by Serbia's recently demonstrated willingness to cooperate with the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). At the end of her latest visit to Serbia ICTY Prosecutor Carla del Ponte also concluded that Serbia is willing to cooperate. Federal Minister Steinmeier was briefed by Ms del Ponte by telephone on the outcome of her visit.
The recently formed democratic Serbian Government had made cooperation with the ICTY one of its top priorities. The arrest at the end of last week – with the help also of Serbian security services - of General Zdravko Tolimir, who has been indicted for war crimes inter alia in Srebrenica, and his surrender to The Hague are a first tangible sign of this willingness to cooperate.
In this connection Federal Minister Steinmeier issued today in Berlin the following statement:
"I welcome today's announcement by Commission President Barroso that he intends to resume negotiations with Serbia on a Stabilization and Association Agreement as early as next week. Serbia's recently demonstrated willingness to cooperate with the ICTY – its contribution, for example, to the arrest of General Tolimir - has made possible this important step towards forging closer links between Serbia and the EU. I expect the Serbian Government to remain firmly committed to this path."
