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A worker arranges flags of Serbia and EU on a lamppost in Belgrade on March 2, 2012. The granting of European Union candidacy status to Serbia follows a lengthy process and will still take time as the country must align itself with laws and standards of the EU. (Alexa Stankovic/AFP/Getty Images)
The European Union formally offered Serbia a chance to join its ranks, granting the Balkan nation candidate status.
The offer “confirmed that Serbia has continued to show credible commitment and achieved further progress in the implementation of agreements reached in the dialogue with Kosovo,” which includes border management, according to a statement from the European Council late on Thursday.
The move to grant Serbia candidate status could be viewed as an attempt to promote better relations between it and Kosovo as the region attempts to reconcile after the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Serbia was expected to receive candidate status after capturing two war crime suspects from the Balkan war era, Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic.
“The Council noted that an agreement has been reached on inclusive regional cooperation, and
that Serbia has actively cooperated to enable” the EU’s missions inside the country to operate, it adds.
In 2009, Serbia applied for EU member status, but obtaining membership in the 27-nation bloc could take several years. Candidate countries have to align their laws with the EU’s standards and demonstrate a respect for human rights and democracy, as well as free market economies.
Other candidate countries include Croatia, Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Turkey.
Serbian President Boris Tadic was pleased with the decision and called it a move toward “economic advance and prosperity,” reported Radio Free Europe. Serbia has been coping with a high unemployment rate and a lack of investment, and Tadic has said entering the EU or achieving candidate status would likely create economic growth.
Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy head, called on neighboring Kosovo to try to integrate itself with the EU.
“We have always said the aim of the dialogue that we set up was to bring both sides closer to the European Union, to enhance cooperation, and for me—most important of all—to improve the lives of ordinary people,” said Ashton, who was referring to both Serbia and Kosovo, according to RFE.
