Expert says Serbia's EU application may help end Bosnia's paralysis

Dec 23, 2009, 8:56 GMT

Belgrade - Serbia's formal application for membership in the European Union may push Bosnia to more clearly define its orientation toward the EU, a leading economist said Wednesday.

Serbia's application 'will have consequences, for Bosnia and Serbia,' Vladimir Gligorov, an analyst with the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wrote in a column for the Belgrade daily Blic.

A gap is set to appear between Bosnia's neighbours and mutually important economic partners, and Belgrade should strive to minimize this gap, he said.

Belgrade submitted its application on Tuesday, despite warnings from some EU nations that the move was premature, with lagging reforms and war crime suspects still on the loose on its soil.

Locked in feuding between its ethnic Muslim, Serb and Croat leaders, Bosnia remains even farther behind than Serbia. Bosnia's Serbs, who control half of the country and closely follow orders from Belgrade, are most often blamed for the lack of progress.

With Serbia confirming its EU aspirations and with a EU trade benefits agreement in effect since last week, Serbia's distance from Bosnia, an important economic partner, is certain to become greater, Gligorov said.

'It is clear that doubts in business dealings with this country will grow,' he warned. 'In times that are less than golden ... the economic cost cannot be disregarded.'

If Bosnia, with its existing and potential trade and investments interests, continues to fall further behind, 'Serbia will lose together with it.'

'So we should expect Serbia to make a stronger effort for the integration of Bosnia,' Gligorov said.