06 December 2009.

At a two-day sitting starting in Brussels on Monday, EU ministers are to decide if the progress reached by Serbia in cooperation with the Hague Tribunal is enough for its further progress in EU integration process. The latest report of Hague Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz being positive, Serbia expects a decision that would mean a new step in its EU accession. Serbia has extradided 44 of the 46 Hague indictees so far, including former FRY and Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and former RS President Radovan Karadzic. At the Tribunal’s request, more than 400 witnesses have been released of the obligation of keeping a state and military secret and the required documentation has been submitted according to an emergency procedure. Serbia has also opened archives to the Tribunal Prosecution, ensured protection for witnesses in all the cases when it was required and obeyed the conditions under which the convicts were provisionally released pending trial. A more lenient stand of The Netherlands is now expected, as Serbia is doing everything in its power to arrest the two remaining Hague fugitives.