BRUSSELS – The prosecution of war crimes and full cooperation with the Hague tribunal are important requirements in the process of Serbia’s EU accession, a key for regional cooperation and reconciliation, said European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijančić on Friday.
“We expect Serbia to quickly take all necessary steps to ensure full cooperation with the Tribunal,” said Kocijančić.
This statement was made at a regular press conference in Brussels, answering the question whether the negative report of the Hague tribunal by UN Security Council on Serbia’s cooperation will affect the opening of negotiation chapters 23 and 24 which has been announced for June.
“Preparations for the opening of chapters 23 and 24, which are also linked to other issues, is currently in progress and now I do not want to speculate about that, but I stress that full cooperation with the ICTY remains an obligation of Serbia,” Kocijančić issued.
She added that the European Commission has been following the presentation of the Tribunal’s report with great concern, as well as the negative development regarding Serbia’s cooperation with the international court.