SERBIA & MONTENEGRO: The European Commission has recommended opening talks with Serbia and Montenegro on a first agreement between the EU and the former Yugoslav republic that could eventually lead to membership.
The move yesterday, almost five years after the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic, was a reward for Belgrade's co-operation with the Hague UN war crimes tribunal and an attempt to enlist its help on the future of the ethnic Albanian Serbian province of Kosovo.
"This is the beginning of the European road for Serbia and Montenegro," EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn told a news conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
"I am glad that Serbia and Montenegro has finally made significant progress in co-operating with the Hague tribunal. This trend must continue until none of the remaining indictees is still at large," said Mr Rehn.
The Serbian authorities have persuaded almost a dozen war crimes suspects to turn themselves in to the tribunal this year.
A stabilisation and association agreement, which Mr Rehn said would take about a year to negotiate once EU ministers approve a mandate in June or July, would lead to closer ties between Brussels and Belgrade. - (Reuters)