EU: Enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn welcomed Montenegro's vote for independence yesterday and held out the tantalising prospect of future EU membership for the Balkan state. Jamie Smyth reports from Brussels
He also confirmed the EU would begin talks with Montenegro on a stabilisation and association agreement - a first step toward EU membership - separately from Serbia.
"The European perspective is open to Montenegro - as it is to Serbia once it fulfils the various criteria, in particular co-operation with the war crimes tribunal in The Hague," Mr Rehn told The Irish Times, following its vote for independence from Serbia.
The decision to offer Montenegro a separate negotiating mandate from Serbia raises the prospect that it could leapfrog Serbia in talks to form closer ties with the EU. Last month, Mr Rehn halted talks on agreement for closer EU ties with Serbia and Montenegro, following Serbia's failure to arrest suspected war criminal Ratko Mladic.
Mr Rehn said both states had different obstacles to overcome before they could conclude agreements offering closer ties with the EU. He said Montenegro needed to build up the administrative capacity of its judiciary and its administration, while Serbia first needed to achieve full co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal on the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). He added Serbia had a comparatively strong administrative capacity and could proceed on condition it co-operated with ICTY.
Mr Rehn said the move to independence by both states would cause no technical disruption to talks on closer EU ties. He said the progress achieved already in negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro could be used as part of the new negotiating mandates adopted with the EU.
Meanwhile, Mr Rehn called on Belgrade and Podgorica to engage in direct talks on the practical implementation of the referendum result.
"All sides should respect the result and work together in order to build consensus on the basis of the acceptance of European values and standards," he added.