Serbia warned not to rush entry bid

As Serbia debates whether to apply in coming weeks to join the European Union, officials warn that the Balkan state still scarred by the wars of the 1990s could harm its chances by moving too fast.

Several Balkan countries, Croatia and Serbia chief among them, have notched up major progress towards integrating the EU in the past few years, but the path to membership is still rocky for the long-volatile Balkan region.

Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said last month that Belgrade would apply this year to the 27-nation bloc, which has said it intends eventually to include all western Balkans nations, with a view to joining in 2014.

But splits have since emerged in the pro-European government between those who would apply by end 2009 or early in 2010, and others who prefer to wait for broader support among EU states, Serbian media reported this week.

Dutch Foreign Minister Maxim Verhagen warned Belgrade during a visit to Serbia this week it would be unwise to rush.

"It is obvious there is a lot to do if Serbia wants to be sure that its candidacy... is received in a positive way," he told Belgrade television B92.

"Submitting a candidacy will not accelerate the process of adhesion."

At a conference this week in Belgrade dubbed "Our Europe", several speakers stressed the immensity of the task still facing Bosnia and Kosovo, but also Serbia, the largest of the three ex-Yugoslav republics.

"We are still dealing with unfinished states," said Jacques Rupnik, a French expert on central and eastern Europe, noting that most borders between the countries, with the exception of Macedonia, have yet to be fully demarcated.

Several, namely Bosnia and Kosovo, have yet to become fully functional states, he said. Pierre Mirel, the European Commission's director for the Western Balkans, warned "there are still walls, both political and psychological" barring the region's route to the EU.

"The ghosts of fighting still haunt the region," he said.

Balkan countries as a whole need to work on post-war reconciliation and develop regional cooperation - notably on extradition issues - if they are to fight crime more efficiently, Mr Mirel said.

"Organised crime is the most successful multi-ethnic project so far" in the Balkans, he said.

For the meantime, support for Serbia's bid is mixed at best according to a European diplomat, with backing from Greece and Italy but several key members - among them Britain and The Netherlands - more reserved.

Cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal based in The Hague remains key to building deeper trust with its prospective EU partners.

The Dutch Foreign Minister repeated on Wednesday that it was "crucial" for Serbia to arrest Bosnian Serb wartime military chief Ratko Mladic, wanted for genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the 1992-95 war.