Serbia ready to sacrifice EU membership over Kosovo

Published: Friday 29 August 2008
Serbia's Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic made clear yesterday (28 August) that if Serbia had to choose between joining the EU and keeping Kosovo, it would choose the latter, indicating a departure from an earlier position that both objectives were equally important.

Talking to the Serbian daily Politika, Cvetkovic noted that the EU had thus far not made Serbia's accession conditional on the recognition of Kosovo, but "in case it comes to that, we will choose Kosovo. We will not abandon Kosovo. That is our message".

It is the first time that a member of the new pro-EU government has prioritised one of the country's top foreign policy objectives over the other. The inability to balance these two objectives led to the collapse of the previous government led by nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who openly rejected any trade over Kosovo as a means of Serbia joining the Union.

Cvetkovic's Democratic Party had campaigned on a pledge to lead the country into the bloc, but also to never recognise Kosovo as a sovereign state. The EU hailed the pro-Western camp's victory in the elections in May as an important step towards EU membership (EurActiv 13/05/08), which the country hopes to be ready for in 2014, according to Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic.

With the arrest of Radovan Karadzic (EurActiv 22/07/08), one of Serbia's most wanted war criminals, and the pledge to return its ambassadors to those EU capitals to have recognised Kosovo (EurActiv 25/07/08), the new government demonstrated its commitment to this ambitious goal. But more recently, the pro-EU charm offensive appears to have come to an end.

EU diplomats recently warned Serbia that its decision to seize the International Court of Justice over the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence and its staunch opposition to the Union's rule-of-law mission (EULEX) in Kosovo could complicate the country's EU membership bid (EurActiv 20/08/08). In the interview with Politika, Cvetkovic reiterated his opposition to EULEX, saying that its arrival without a proper UN resolution and Serbia's consent was "unacceptable".

The EU is also closely watching how Serbia might respond to Russia's recognition of two Georgian breakaway provinces, which Moscow says was triggered in the first place by the West's recognition of Kosovo in February (EurActiv 18/02/08). Cvetkovic echoed this view, saying that Kosovo's recognition had caused a "domino effect".

Asked whether Serbia plans to recognise the provinces as well, Cvetkovic stressed that the situation is being monitored, saying Serbia "will take steps in its own best interest".

"We do not expect this new development to have a negative effect on us," he added, saying he expected Russia to maintain its stance that Kosovo is part of Serbia even if his country decides not to follow in Russia's footsteps by recognising South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Meanwhile, the Kosovo government appointed its first four ambassadors, to be sent to the US, the UK, France and Belgium respectively. Other countries should follow soon.

http://www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/serbia-ready-sacrifice-eu-membership-kosovo/article-174960