An association agreement with a proviso

"Just over a week before Serbia's parliamentary elections take place, the European Union has forged a bridge with the Balkan state but blocked off access for the present," Frank Herold writes. "The association agreement which the foreign ministers have hesitantly signed after much deliberation is tied to a condition. No one says this openly, but the agreement will only take effect if the 'right', pro-Western forces rallied around President Boris Tadic win. If the nationalists win, which seems highly probable at present, access to that bridge will be blocked. ... Serbia faces its most important elections since the fall of Slobodan Milosevic. The decision it faces is not between the EU and Kosovo, because Belgrade has already lost Kosovo forever. It must choose between joining Europe and isolating itself. The partnership agreement is the EU's belated attempt to make this decision easier for the Serbs."

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » EU Policy, » Europe, » Serbia
All available articles from » Frank Herold

» To the complete press review of Wednesday, April 30, 2008