According to daily Dnevnik which quotes sources close to the European Commission, the EU enlargement commissioner told Brammertz that good cooperation between Brussels and the Hague was vital in order to achieve the desired result—the arrest of the three remaining fugitives, Ratko Mladić, Radovan Karadžić and Goran Hadžić.
The paper says Serbia’s further integration depends on this appraisal, and a positive Hague appraisal could be “a signal to Belgrade“ to apply for EU candidate status.
However, In the event of a negative appraisal in the report that is usually submitted in October, then the French EU Presidency will be unable to approve such an application, writes the paper, quoting a senior EU diplomat.
According to Dnevnik, Rehn told Brammertz that he believed that the new pro-European government in Belgrade would “pick up the pace towards full cooperation“ with the Hague, and that this was realistically possible.
The paper states that it was a “good sign“ that Stojan Župljanin had been arrested at the sensitive juncture of forming a new government.
The daily adds that EU diplomats dealing with Serbia have “a certain dose of mistrust“ over the arrival of Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) leader Ivica DaÄić at the Interior Ministry, in spite of assurances they have received that there is nothing to worry about.
Scepticism remains despite guarantees from Belgrade that DaÄić backs full cooperation with the Tribunal, that Milorad Veljović wil continue to be chief of police, and that the state secretary in the ministry and the head of the security services will be from the Democratic Party (DS).