Serbia to pass Bill at odds with EU entry

SERBIA:Serbia was poised last night to approve retaliatory measures that would be taken against the west if Kosovo became independent, including moves that could complicate Belgrade's bid to join the European Union.

Parliament was due to vote on a widely supported resolution that pledged Serbia would "reconsider" diplomatic relations with countries that recognised an independent Kosovo, condemned a planned EU mission in the province, and vowed not to sign any international agreement that threatened the country's territorial integrity.

That would imperil Belgrade's signature of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) that is fundamental to any state's bid to join the EU, most of whose members are expected to recognise a declaration of independence from Kosovo early next year.

The resolution has the backing of nationalist prime minister Vojislav Kostunica and more moderate president Boris Tadic, neither of whom wants to take responsibility for the "loss" of Kosovo, and who are jockeying for position before next month's presidential election.

The ultra-nationalist Radical party, which is the largest force in parliament, also said it would back the Bill, provided that it "guaranteed" that Belgrade would not sign the SAA unless it explicitly stated that Kosovo was part of Serbia's territory.

"America is openly striving for the destruction of the international order. America, which once seemed like a symbol of freedom, now advocates the policies of force," Mr Kostunica told parliament.

Calling the resolution "our last line of defence", Mr Kostunica said it would send a message to Serbs in Kosovo "that they should ignore any unilateral declaration of independence as an illegal act". Leaders of Kosovo, which is home to some 1.9 million Albanians and 100,000 Serbs, expect the mostly Serb northern part of their region to reject its independence, sever ties with provincial capital Pristina, and take orders from and maintain relations with Belgrade alone. The move could be accompanied by a financial and trade blockade of Kosovo by Serbia.

Liberal Party leader Cedomir Jovanovic was the only high profile politician to oppose the resolution, accusing his president and premier of turning the country into a "training ground for the conflict between Russia and America, from which they will see no harm, but Serbia will".