(8 May 2006) EU SUSPENDS INTEGRATION TALKS WITH SERBIA. (Balkan Watch)

• 2006-05-23
• Europa in de wereld

The EU ended preliminary talks with Serbia and Montenegro over its failure to hand indicted war criminal Ratko Mladic over to international authorities by an April 30 deadline. Chief UN Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte accused Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica of misleading her a month earlier by insisting that Mladic’s arrest was imminent. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus resigned in protest of the Serbian government’s unwillingness to capture Mladic and the resulting blow to Belgrade’s goal of joining the EU. Labus stated that the Serbian government had betrayed the Serbian people by failing to turn over Mladic. Del Ponte claimed that the Serbian government had acted “unprofessionally” in its handling of the Mladic problem and that Mladic was most likely in hiding in the Belgrade area. A statement released by Serbian President Boris Tadic noted that the government’s failure to capture Mladic was hindering its position at the Kosovo final status talks, as well as undermining its credibility among the international community. Tadic, however, also criticized the EU for its decision, claiming that it could harm the government’s ability to remain in control and that it would lead to greater influence by extremist parties.