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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| EU says too early for Serbia deal | EU says too early for Serbia deal |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn says a pre-membership deal should be signed with Serbia shortly, but not until presidential elections are over. | |
| Speaking in Brussels before a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Mr Rehn said a "very strong signal of a European future" should be sent to Serbia. | Speaking in Brussels before a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Mr Rehn said a "very strong signal of a European future" should be sent to Serbia. |
| But he said it was premature to discuss signing before the polls next weekend. | But he said it was premature to discuss signing before the polls next weekend. |
| The Dutch government says fugitive war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic should be handed over before any deal is struck. | The Dutch government says fugitive war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic should be handed over before any deal is struck. |
| 'Significant progress' | 'Significant progress' |
| Mr Rehn said that while the EU should insist on Serbia's full co-operation with the UN war crimes tribunal in the Hague, Belgrade had made "significant progress especially since last spring". | Mr Rehn said that while the EU should insist on Serbia's full co-operation with the UN war crimes tribunal in the Hague, Belgrade had made "significant progress especially since last spring". |
| EU member states are keen to send Serbia a positive message before the presidential run-off on 3 February, when ultra-nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolic takes on pro-Western incumbent Boris Tadic. | |
| The BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels says EU foreign ministers will back a plan to start talks on allowing Serbs to travel to EU countries without a visa, after years of isolation. | The BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels says EU foreign ministers will back a plan to start talks on allowing Serbs to travel to EU countries without a visa, after years of isolation. |
| And she says they will not yet give the green light to the deployment of a civilian police and justice mission to Kosovo, to avoid any suggestion that independence for the breakaway Serbian province is inevitable. | And she says they will not yet give the green light to the deployment of a civilian police and justice mission to Kosovo, to avoid any suggestion that independence for the breakaway Serbian province is inevitable. |
| Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic is in Brussels and will meet EU ministers on the margins of the meeting. | Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic is in Brussels and will meet EU ministers on the margins of the meeting. |