Nederland blokkeerde overeenkomst met Servië (en)
EUOBSERVER/ BRUSSELS - EU foreign ministers on Monday (28 January) agreed to offer Serbia an interim political pact to be signed just days after the second round of the country's presidential elections - but firm opposition from the Dutch blocked the signing of a genuine pre-membership deal.
The bloc's ministers would like to sign the interim political agreement on 7 February, offering Belgrade closer trade relations, relaxed visa requirements and educational cooperation.
"This is a text that will open up the doors of Serbia to the EU," Slovenian foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, stated at the end of the meeting with his EU counterparts.
It is to "prove that we mean business, that we are serious" as regards Serbia and its EU destiny, he added.
EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn also welcomed the political agreement as a "very strong signal to Serbia", which has now to make a choice between its "nationalistic past and its European future", he said.
The majority of EU ministers had initially aimed to sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) - the first step to EU membership - with Belgrade on Monday, hoping it would serve to boost pro-Western presidential candidate Boris Tadic ahead of Sunday's (3 February) elections.
Mr Tadic is to face his nationalist and eurosceptic opponent Tomislav Nikolic, who won the first round of the elections on 20 January obtaining around 40 percent of the votes.
Netherlands stays firm
But the biggest opponent to signing the SAA at this stage - the Netherlands - refused to back down on its condition for signing the pre-membership pact. The Hague has said Serbia must first demonstrate full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia by arresting the remaining fugitives wanted by the ICTY.
The Netherlands will sign the SAA with Belgrade "at the moment Serbia hands over the people indicted by the Yugoslavia tribunal" - but not before, Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said.
The political agreement the bloc has rustled up for 7 February is a compromise between the two positions.
"This text is far away from the SAA, therefore I am satisfied with the outcome of this meeting", the Dutch premier said.
For its part, Serbia said it was "very, very pleased with this breakthrough".
"We understand that this agreement is basically an invitation to Serbia to walk through the door that is now open for Serbia to enter the European family of nations", Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic commented on the ministers' invitation.
The actual signing of the document will also depend on Sunday's elections outcome, however.
"In the case of a victory for Nikolic, things would be very different", Spanish foreign minister Alberto Navarro was quoted as saying by AFP.
"We might not sign the stabilisation accord or the political agreement", he added.