Overeenkomst EU-Servië mogelijk vertraagd (en)
The approval of an EU civilian mission to Kosovo earlier this week has caused divisions within Serbia's coalition government, with Belgrade now likely to delay the signing of a political agreement it had been offered by the bloc.
The EU on Monday approved its 1,800-strong civilian mission to be sent to Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo, while last week, EU foreign ministers put together a deal offering Belgrade closer trade relations, relaxed visa requirements and educational cooperation.
It was to be signed on Thursday (7 February).
But it now appears likely the signing of the deal - offered as a sweetener before what had been billed as crossroad presidential elections over the weekend - will be delayed.
"It seems that in the current situation, more time will be needed [by Belgrade] to make concrete steps forward and therefore it is very possible that this will delay the signing," Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, was quoted as saying by AFP on Tuesday evening (5 February).
The delay is due to Serbia's hostility to the civilian mission. It sees Kosovo as an integral part of its territory and the EU mission as a step towards the recognition of the province's independence.
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, whose Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) is part of the four-party governing coalition, has spoken out strongly against signing the EU deal under these conditions.
"The [EU] decision to illegally send a mission means that, together with Albanian separatists, the EU creates, contrary to all principles of international law, a false Albanian state in the territory of Serbia," he said on Tuesday, according to Serbian news site B92.net.
"That is why the EU's proposal to sign a political agreement with Serbia while sending a mission to disintegrate our state is a deception aimed at getting Serbia's signature on the agreement with the EU, which, in fact, would mean that it agrees with Kosovo's independence and it would make it a first step to directly recognise independent Kosovo", he added.
Delay is not "crucial"
Mr Kostunica on Tuesday requested an urgent session of the Serbian parliament, aiming to "endorse necessary decisions on a planned European Union mission and the agreement offered by the EU to Serbia."
He said that a regular government meeting scheduled for Thursday, which was to give the green light to deputy prime minister Bozidar Djelic to travel to Brussels and sign the EU deal, will not be held.
Mr Jansa said the EU would "regret" a possible delay of the signing, but added that "from the strategic point of view, some days are not crucial."
The newly re-elected pro-EU president of Serbia Boris Tadic also believes that "there is no legal framework in place for an EU mission to be sent to Kosovo and Metohija" and "the mission can be approved only by the United Nations Security Council".
However, Mr Tadic's Democratic Party (DS) has said that this issue is not related to the signing of the deal with the EU.
The DS and another of the coalition parties, G17 Plus, have issued an appeal to Mr Kostunica that Thursday's cabinet session be held as planned.