Serbia says it has done enough for EU candidate status

Dec 6, 2011, 8:26 GMT

Belgrade - Serbia has done enough to win European Union candidate status, but was not certain to get it at the upcoming summit in Brussels, President Boris Tadic said Tuesday.

Tadic said that by handing the Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic to the United Nations war crimes tribunal and making progress in talks with Kosovo, Serbia met the conditions to be promoted by the EU.

His statement came after EU ministers on Monday left the decision on Serbia's status to their leaders, who will gather in Brussels on Friday.

Belgrade's prospects for EU membership candidacy were harmed by persistent tensions in the north of Kosovo, Serbia's former province with an Albanian majority which declared independence in 2008.

Backed by Belgrade, Serbs in their northern enclave have resisted the implementation of agreements from Belgrade's talks with Pristina, and even clashed with NATO peacekeepers over it early last week.

Germany had said that Belgrade should not be allowed closer to membership until it normalizes relations with Kosovo and stops instigating tensions in the north.

Tadic last week urged Serbs in northern Kosovo to reduce tensions and dismantle some 20 roadblocks they put up in the north, preventing the implementation of an agreement on border controls.

On Monday the Serbs began removing some of the roadblocks, made of tons of dirt, gravel, wood and parked farming machinery, local reports said.

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