EU's Rehn halts SAA talks with Serbia-Montenegro over Mladic
03/05/2006
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The EU has called off talks on closer ties with Serbia-Montenegro because of Belgrade's failure to arrest war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn made the announcement Wednesday (3 May) after consulting the UN tribunal's chief prosecutor, Carla del Ponte. The deadline set by the EU for Mladic's arrest expired on Sunday. The next round of Stabilisation and Association talks had been scheduled for 11 May.
"It is disappointing that Belgrade has been unable to locate, arrest and transfer Ratko Mladic to the Hague," Rehn said. "The Commission therefore has to call off the negotiations."
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica had pledged that Mladic would be apprehended in April -- a promise that won Serbia-Montenegro a month-long extension from the EU. In a statement Wednesday, he insisted his government had done all it could.
In Podgorica, meanwhile, Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said Montenegro's EU aspirations were being damaged because of Belgrade's inability to resolve the Mladic case. If the 21 May independence referendum in the republic succeeds, he said, Montenegro will seek to separate its EU bid from Serbia's before the end of this year. (BBC, Politika, Blic, Danas, Independent, EU Politix - 03/05/06; Beta, RTS, Mina, Tanjug - 02/05/06)
reported on SouthEast European Times
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The EU has called off talks on closer ties with Serbia-Montenegro because of Belgrade's failure to arrest war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn made the announcement Wednesday (3 May) after consulting the UN tribunal's chief prosecutor, Carla del Ponte. The deadline set by the EU for Mladic's arrest expired on Sunday. The next round of Stabilisation and Association talks had been scheduled for 11 May.
"It is disappointing that Belgrade has been unable to locate, arrest and transfer Ratko Mladic to the Hague," Rehn said. "The Commission therefore has to call off the negotiations."
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica had pledged that Mladic would be apprehended in April -- a promise that won Serbia-Montenegro a month-long extension from the EU. In a statement Wednesday, he insisted his government had done all it could.
In Podgorica, meanwhile, Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said Montenegro's EU aspirations were being damaged because of Belgrade's inability to resolve the Mladic case. If the 21 May independence referendum in the republic succeeds, he said, Montenegro will seek to separate its EU bid from Serbia's before the end of this year. (BBC, Politika, Blic, Danas, Independent, EU Politix - 03/05/06; Beta, RTS, Mina, Tanjug - 02/05/06)
reported on SouthEast European Times
posted by redemption department at 12:58 PM
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