Dutch ambassador: No shortcuts on road to EU

Dutch ambassador: No shortcuts on road to EU The Dutch ambassador congratulated Serbian President Boris Tadic and everybody who took part in the arrest and pointed out that a “big step forward has been made“. However, when asked whether Mladic's arrest was enough for the Netherlands to unblock Serbia's further progress in European integration, he said: “The arrest was crucial, like Prime Minister Rutte explained, to allow us to even look at things with a positive attitude. Together with our partners in the EU we insist on full cooperation as an important condition for any further step. We must wait for Mr. (Serge) Brammertz's opinion, cooperation needs to continue, (Goran) Hadzic needs to be arrested and court proceedings need to be finished,“ Stokvis was quoted as saying. “We still expect Mr. Brammertz's report and European Commision's opinon. There is a long way ahead, Serbia still has a lot of hard work to do but once the job is done and all facts are known in December, the issue of Mladic won’t hang above the decision-making process anymore,” he explained. The Dutch ambassador pointed out that the Dutch parliament would only decide when it would ratify the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) after the Hague Tribunal chief prosecutor submitted his report to the UN Security Council and the Dutch parliament informed its MPs about it. Commenting on former Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen’s promise that the Netherlands would become Serbia’s special ally once the Hague conditions are fulfilled, the Dutch ambassador said that “the Netherlands has been supporting Serbia for a long time with projects in the field of human rights, rule of law, environmental protection, agriculture, private sector development and administration”. “As you see, the Netherlands supports Serbia in its European tendencies. There are other advantages as well. I will surprise you, but when they heard that Ratko Mladic was arrested, the Dutch companies started asking questions about business possibilities in Serbia. We are a significant trade partner and investor in Serbia, but smaller than our real potential is. The Netherlands has the 16th most developed economy in the world, oriented toward international market and the companies’ interest is encouraging,” Stokvis pointed out. “Ratko Mladic's arrest has removed certain doubts. This is excellent news but the arrest does not lead to automatism. Serbia, just like all countries of the Western Balkans, will have to fulfill all conditions, including full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. There will be no shortcuts. There is still a lot of work to do but we are ready to listen and offer practical help where we can,“ Dutch Ambassador to Serbia Laurent Stokvis told Belgrade's Blic newspaper in an interview. Tamara Spaic "We must wait for Mr. (Serge) Brammertz's opinion, cooperation needs to continue, (Goran) Hadzic needs to be arrested and court proceedings need to be finished."

Dutch ambassador: No shortcuts on road to EU

The Dutch ambassador congratulated Serbian President Boris Tadić and everybody who took part in the arrest and pointed out that a “big step forward has been made“.

However, when asked whether Mladić's arrest was enough for the Netherlands to unblock Serbia's further progress in European integration, he said:

“The arrest was crucial, like Prime Minister Rutte explained, to allow us to even look at things with a positive attitude. Together with our partners in the EU we insist on full cooperation as an important condition for any further step. We must wait for Mr. (Serge) Brammertz's opinion, cooperation needs to continue, (Goran) Hadžić needs to be arrested and court proceedings need to be finished,“ Stokvis was quoted as saying.

“We still expect Mr. Brammertz's report and European Commision's opinon. There is a long way ahead, Serbia still has a lot of hard work to do but once the job is done and all facts are known in December, the issue of Mladić won’t hang above the decision-making process anymore,” he explained.

The Dutch ambassador pointed out that the Dutch parliament would only decide when it would ratify the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) after the Hague Tribunal chief prosecutor submitted his report to the UN Security Council and the Dutch parliament informed its MPs about it.

Commenting on former Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen’s promise that the Netherlands would become Serbia’s special ally once the Hague conditions are fulfilled, the Dutch ambassador said that “the Netherlands has been supporting Serbia for a long time with projects in the field of human rights, rule of law, environmental protection, agriculture, private sector development and administration”.

“As you see, the Netherlands supports Serbia in its European tendencies. There are other advantages as well. I will surprise you, but when they heard that Ratko Mladić was arrested, the Dutch companies started asking questions about business possibilities in Serbia. We are a significant trade partner and investor in Serbia, but smaller than our real potential is. The Netherlands has the 16th most developed economy in the world, oriented toward international market and the companies’ interest is encouraging,” Stokvis pointed out.