The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, has welcomed the ending of the Milosevic regime and said that he expected EU economic sanctions against Yugoslavia to be lifted on Monday. It was important to bring all indicted war criminals to trial at The Hague as soon as possible, he said.
The coming into office of Dr Vojislav Kostunica heralded "a new era for the people of that country who have suffered so much over the last 10 years under the Milosevic regime", he said in a statement.
Mr Cowen said he expected that, with confirmation of Dr Kostunica as president, a session of the EU General Affairs Council in Luxembourg on Monday would lift the sanctions. The Minister, who will attend that meeting, said Serbia would require urgent assistance and the EU had committed itself to providing economic and reconstruction assistance to a democratic Serbia. He said he hoped that Yugoslavia would soon become a full and active participant in the Stability Pact for south-eastern Europe.