EU Must Not Be Lenient Towards Serbia

Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht visited Croatia and spoke with senior officials about Croatia’s entry into the EU.

Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht met his Croatian counterpart Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and President Stjepan Mesic during his two-day visit to Croatia. In talks he stressed that Belgium supported Croatia’s accession into the EU. 

According to Jutarnji list, De Gucht commented on the arrest of Croatian General Ante Gotovina, saying it was the result of the good functioning of institutions of the Croatian state, but that it was time that other war criminals be processed.

Asked whether the international community would support Slovenia regarding the border dispute with Croatia, De Gucht said that would not be the case.

We will not support Slovenia just because it is a member of the EU, nor do we wish to take sides, De Gicht explained, adding that the issue of the disputable border should be solved by international arbitration.

Serbia should extradite war criminals

The Belgian minister believes that the processing of war criminals is very important for the future of Serbia, but also the wider region.

There are influential politicians that have a lenient attitude towards Serbia, but we are against that. We will not concede despite political pressures, said De Gucht.