IN THE shadow of crisis, the EU put on a show of solidarity yesterday to welcome Croatia into the club, while putting Serbia back into the holding queue.
At a treaty-signing ceremony in Brussels, sleep-deprived leaders decided Croatia would become the EU’s 28th member next July and postponed until March a decision on giving membership candidate status to Serbia. EU leaders expressed hope that the accession of Croatia, the second former Yugoslav republic to join the bloc, would encourage accession-inspired reform efforts among its Balkan neighbours.
European Commission president José Manuel Barroso said the EU would “closely monitor” Croatia’s progress but that its accession sent a clear signal to its Balkan neighbours. “Hard work pays off,” he said. “The benefits of European integration are within reach if our partners stay the course.”
Explaining the European Council decision on Serbia, its president, Herman Van Rompuy, praised Belgrade’s “bold steps” in bringing war criminals to justice.
“We would encourage Serbia to build on that dialogue for the sake of regional stability,” he said.
Behind yesterday’s words of encouragement, however, lie concerns among many EU members, particularly Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. Their concerns centre on Serbia’s perceived lack of enthusiasm for dialogue with Kosovo, which it still views as part of its sovereign territory.
Berlin and Vienna, meanwhile, have expressed concerns over incidents at the Serbia-Kosovo border that resulted in the injuring of German and Austrian soldiers.
The European Commission recommended that Serbia be granted candidate status. Ireland has been supportive of Serbia’s candidate status, pointing to significant progress in talks. Serbia’s EU supporters warn that too much procrastination could put wind in the sails of Serb nationalists ahead of next year’s general election and hobble the country’s reform drive.
Despite the setback, Serbian president Boris Tadic said yesterday that Belgrade would “never abandon” its aspiration for EU membership. He warned that any solution other than EU membership would have “complex consequences” for the continent.
“I remain in the position that our path leads to the EU and I will never abandon that,” he told a press conference in Belgrade. He insisted there would be no change in its refusal to recognise Kosovo as an independent state, neither “explicitly or implicitly”, as most EU nations have done.
After an all-night session to stabilise the euro zone, German chancellor Angela Merkel said Croatia’s accession proved the European Union had “not lost its power of attraction”. Eight years after Slovenia, Croatia will become the second former Yugoslav state to join the bloc.
“Croatia had to overcome war to join the European Union, and that is not only a Croatian triumph, but the triumph of European peacemaking,” said Croatian president Ivo Josipovic at the signing ceremony. “Today Croatia is entering Europe, but more importantly Europe is entering Croatia.”
EU leaders dealt a second accession setback yesterday, declining to give Montenegro a starting date for its own negotiations.
Mr Van Rompuy said the EU would consider opening accession negotiations with Montenegro after further assessment of progress with reforms, especially in the area of the rule of law.
Montenegro attained candidate status a year ago. Accession negotiations could begin in June of 2012