Dutch seek postponement of Serbian bid debate

Holland will seek a postponement of the debate on the Serbian EU membership candidate applications, it has been reported. The debate was announced for later this month at the EU Council of Ministers. Dutch seek postponement of Serbian bid debate The Dutch parliament concluded unanimously today that the discussion should wait until the next report of Chief Hague Prosecutor Serge Brammertz. Should the Council of Ministers reject the Dutch demand, that country will ask that both the forwarding of the candidate status application and any other EU integration move Serbia makes be tied to Belgrade's full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. This suggestion will be presented to the EU ministers on October 25 by the country's new foreign minister, Uri Rosenthal. 26 out of 27 EU countries believe that the forwarding of the application should be a technical, rather than a political issue, say reports. The EU decides on technical issues by majority, while political questions require consensus. Holland's outgoing diplomacy chief, Maxime Verhagen, said ahead of the parliamentary meeting today that the Dutch government still believed that Serbia's progress en route to the EU should hinge on full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. However, it allows for the possibility of a greenlight for Serbia's EU membership candidacy request at an upcoming meeting of the EU Council of Ministers in Luxembourg. "The government thinks that any further steps in Serbia's EU accession must be in accordance with full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia," the document, a copy of which was made available to Beta news agency, says. Verhagen, however, stressed that the European Commission and EU's remaining 26 member states "desire a positive decision" on Serbia's candidacy in "light of Serbia's constructive behavior" with regard to the adoption of a resolution on Kosovo by the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 9. "Whether progress in the talks between Serbia and Kosovo, mentioned in the resolution, should figure as a factor when weighing the candidacy request will be subsequently decided by the Dutch government, Verhagen said.

Dutch seek postponement of Serbian bid debate

The Dutch parliament concluded unanimously today that the discussion should wait until the next report of Chief Hague Prosecutor Serge Brammertz.

Should the Council of Ministers reject the Dutch demand, that country will ask that both the forwarding of the candidate status application and any other EU integration move Serbia makes be tied to Belgrade's full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal.

This suggestion will be presented to the EU ministers on October 25 by the country's new foreign minister, Uri Rosenthal.

26 out of 27 EU countries believe that the forwarding of the application should be a technical, rather than a political issue, say reports. The EU decides on technical issues by majority, while political questions require consensus.

Holland's outgoing diplomacy chief, Maxime Verhagen, said ahead of the parliamentary meeting today that the Dutch government still believed that Serbia's progress en route to the EU should hinge on full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal.

However, it allows for the possibility of a greenlight for Serbia's EU membership candidacy request at an upcoming meeting of the EU Council of Ministers in Luxembourg.

"The government thinks that any further steps in Serbia's EU accession must be in accordance with full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia," the document, a copy of which was made available to Beta news agency, says.

Verhagen, however, stressed that the European Commission and EU's remaining 26 member states "desire a positive decision" on Serbia's candidacy in "light of Serbia's constructive behavior" with regard to the adoption of a resolution on Kosovo by the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 9.

"Whether progress in the talks between Serbia and Kosovo, mentioned in the resolution, should figure as a factor when weighing the candidacy request will be subsequently decided by the Dutch government, Verhagen said.