Rehn: Time is right for agreement

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn says Serbia is cooperating seriously with the Hague Tribunal. The time is right, Rehn told Reuters, that the EU starts applying the Interim Trade Agreement with Belgrade. Rehn: Time is right for agreement The agreement is a part of the SAA, signed in April and immediately suspended pending Serbia's full cooperation with the UN war crimes court headquartered in The Hague. Rehn told the news agency that unfreezing the trade deal would not slow down Serbia's efforts to capture Ratko Mladic. "It is my opinion that Serbia is seriously cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The time would be right to start implementing the Interim Trade Agreement," he was quoted as saying. Rehn also said that other Balkan countries will submit membership applications next year, after Montenegro did that recently. But he called on the same Balkan countries not to rush, since they first must demonstrate they had done a lot of work on reforms. Rehn also warned the countries of southern and eastern Europe not to cite the world economic crisis as an excuse for giving up on reforms, and added that they needed help to overcome that crisis.

Rehn: Time is right for agreement

The agreement is a part of the SAA, signed in April and immediately suspended pending Serbia's full cooperation with the UN war crimes court headquartered in The Hague.

Rehn told the news agency that unfreezing the trade deal would not slow down Serbia's efforts to capture Ratko Mladić.

"It is my opinion that Serbia is seriously cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The time would be right to start implementing the Interim Trade Agreement," he was quoted as saying.

Rehn also said that other Balkan countries will submit membership applications next year, after Montenegro did that recently.

But he called on the same Balkan countries not to rush, since they first must demonstrate they had done a lot of work on reforms.

Rehn also warned the countries of southern and eastern Europe not to cite the world economic crisis as an excuse for giving up on reforms, and added that they needed help to overcome that crisis.