BELGRADE: Serbia’s prime minister has denounced an offer to sign an accord with the European Union as a trick to lure it into rubber-stamping an independent Kosovo, piling pressure on his tottering coalition.
The statement by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica exposed a deep rift with pro-Western President Boris Tadic over Serbia’s EU accession drive and could threaten plans to sign a deal that would put Serbia on the road to membership.
Tadic won re-election on Sunday on a pledge of pursuing European Union membership no matter what happens with Serbia’s breakaway province where the 90% Albanian majority is poised to declare independence this month, with the West’s backing.
The EU, which on Monday authorised a supervisory mission to Kosovo ahead of its independence declaration, had hoped to sign the accord – focusing on trade, visa and education issues – tomorrow in the hope of preventing a nationalist backlash.
“The EU’s proposal to sign a political agreement with Serbia while at the same time sending a mission to break apart our state is a deception aimed at getting Serbia effectively to sign its agreement to Kosovo independence,” Kostunica said.
He called for an urgent parliament session, expected to be a showdown over the country’s future direction that could bring down his 9-month old coalition with Tadic’s Democratic Party.
A government meeting in early afternoon was cut short by one minister from Kostunica’s party walking out.
Serbian media said the coalition splits would be difficult to heal.
The unease drove the main index in Belgrade’s fledgling stock market down some 4%.
Infrastructure Minister Velimir Ilic, a Kostunica ally, conceded in a newspaper interview that “the government is in a deep crisis”.
“I fear it might fall this month because of Kosovo and the signing of the accord with the EU,” he told the Press newspaper.
If Kosovo went ahead and declared independence this month, a general election could be held in May, he added.
Former US ambassador to Serbia William Montgomery warned “this is not simply rhetoric”. Kostunica “seems determined to force the EU to choose between its plans for Kosovo and its relationship with Serbia”, he wrote in a weekly column.
It is hard to see how the impasse can end “any other way than in a breakdown in the ruling coalition”, he added.
Kosovo has been ruled by the UN since 1999, when Nato forces pushed out Serb troops accused of killing civilians while fighting a brutal counter-insurgency war. Serbia, which sees the province as its heartland, rejects a breakaway.
Tadic’s Democrats and their technocrat ally G17+ have made clear they won’t back down on the EU after months of being pushed by Kostunica into making Kosovo the main issue.
“After the referendum confirmation of our country’s European orientation, not a single party or politician can prevent what our citizens want and that is that we sign this agreement and join the EU as soon as possible,” said Deputy PM Bozidar Djelic, referring to Tadic’s victory.
It was not clear whether the accord could be adopted within the government by the Democrats and G17+ outvoting Kostunica and his allies, or if a majority of parliament deputies could demand it is submitted for debate and put to a vote.
The nationalist Radical Party, Serbia’s strongest single party, has indicated it would support Kostunica’s rebuff to the EU in parliament, giving him the votes to block the signing.
In Brussels, an EU official said preparations were still on for the signing tomorrow.
“The offer stands. The ball is in Belgrade’s court,” the official said. – Reuters |
