Serbia moves down EU path amid Bosnia concerns

Serbia is taking a step towards eventual accession to the European Union by opening the first two chapters of its membership negotiations, amid renewed western concern about the stability of neighbouring Bosnia.

"Serbia has long deserved it, and has fulfilled many conditions that were very difficult to fulfil," said Serbian president Tomislav Nikolic. "The opening of chapters symbolises the fact that we are still on that European path in the eyes of the EU."

The first two chapters to be opened are expected to relate to financial controls in notoriously corrupt Serbia, and to its relations with Kosovo, the mostly ethnic-Albanian state that broke from Belgrade's rule in a 1998/99 war.

Kosovo formally declared independence in 2008, but Serbia’s leaders say they will never accept its sovereignty, even while backing EU-led efforts to build co-operation between Belgrade and Pristina.

It is still not clear how Serbia could become a member of the EU, which Kosovo also seeks to join, without recognising its neighbour's sovereignty. "Serbia is ready for the opening of chapters, wishing openly to complete the negotiation process by 2019, despite all the difficulties we may face, so that we could apply for membership in 2020," said Serbian foreign minister Ivica Dacic.

“Time has shown that the government . . . is ready and capable of such historic steps forward.”

The opening of Serbia’s first EU accession chapters on Monday had historical resonance, 20 years after the signing of the Dayton Accords to end Bosnia’s devastating 1992/95 war.

The country is still struggling for cohesion and stability under the structure imposed by Dayton, which divided Bosnia into a Muslim-Croat Federation and Serb-run Republika Srpska, two semi-autonomous regions linked by weak institutions in the national capital, Sarajevo.

Muslim majority

The EU and

United States

want to unify the country by weakening the regions and strengthening Bosnia’s national structures, but Republika Srpska’s leaders strongly oppose this, fearing they will be dominated by the country’s Muslim majority.

Last week, Republika Srpska halted all co-operation with Bosnia’s national police, courts and prosecution service after a raid on official buildings in the region resulted in the arrest of five Bosnian Serbs on suspicion of war crimes.

"State-level law enforcement and judicial authorities have jurisdiction to operate fully throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina and this jurisdiction must not be challenged," envoys in Bosnia for the EU, US and other western states said in a joint statement.