Serbia
External Relations
The foreign policy priorities of Serbia and Montenegro are drawing closer to the European Union with the ultimate goal of becoming its member and normalisation and development of relations with neighbours, especially with the former Yugoslav republics. Serbia and Montenegro foreign policy has three near- term objectives: Conclusion of the Association and Stabilisation Agreement with the European Union is one of them. Becoming a member of the Council of Europe is the second, and joining the NATO Partnership for Peace Program is the third.
EU
According to the Stabilisation and Association Report 2003 of the European Commission, the political and economic conditions as well as the implementation of EU- compatible reforms do not allow the drawing up of a Feasibility Report to eventually initiate negotiations for Stabilisation and Association Agreement.
The Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilization (CARDS) for the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro fell from EUR 230 mln in 2001 to EUR 205 mln in 2002. Allocated CARDS for 2003 is EU 229 mln for Republic of Serbia and EUR 13, 5 mln for Republic of Montenegro to support reform and modernisation efforts for good governance, economic reconstruction and civil society development.
Throughout the negotiations for the adoption of a Constitutional charter EU has been the major driving force, whose heavy engagement kept the process on track. The EU exerts strong pressure over the preservation of a federal state and so far has blocked the Montenegrin independence aspirations.
Serbia and Montenegro became a member of the Council of Europe on 3 April 2003.
Bilateral relations
Serbia and Albania initiated a process to normalise diplomatic relations, and in September 2002 Serbian and Albanian ambassadors were exchanged. The new relationship’s emphasis will be on improving commercial links and visa facilities. Serbia closely observes the development of the Albanian policy towards Kosovo and tries to influence it. The future development of relations, however, remains depended on the future status of Kosovo.
Macedonia is another country of strategic interest to Serbia- Montenegro. The joint primary security concern of the countries is the situation in Kosovo. Both countries suffer from the Kosovo- based Albanian guerrilla formations which operate throughout Kosovo, South Serbia and northern Macedonia. The second one concerns the implementation of the border agreement between the two countries. Since its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Macedonia’s northern border was not clearly defined and was a conflict issue between them. According to the agreement, 2.500 hectares of Kosovo territory should be transferred to Macedonia. The demarcation was postponed because of the strong resistance of the local Kosovo institutions that declared readiness to “defend their territory by force” and because of the firm position of the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (a part of the ruling coalition in Macedonia) that demarcation should be postponed until Kosovo gains independence. In 2002 and 2003, the two countries signed a series of agreements on cooperation in the combat against terrorism, organised crime, drug trafficking and illegal migration and establishment of mixed commission for realising the joint goals. In 2003 was initiated the signing of a bilateral agreement on the protection of minority rights and the Serbian Ministry of Human and Minority Rights to assist in the process of the establishment of National Council of Macedonians in Serbia-Montenegro. Along with the joint interests, there are strategic divergences as well. Macedonia denounced the Papandreou- Djindjic plans of new Balkan federation and “new Dayton” to revise the current borders in the region.
Since 2002, the bilateral relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina have fallen into a standstill. The territorial disputes were not solved and the relations have been further complicated after the Bosnian government filed a lawsuit for genocide against SCG.
ICTY
Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 2002- 2003 was complicated and varied, and is affected by the political instability of the federation. There is very little cooperation at the federal level; however, more cooperation is experienced at the Republic level in selected areas and on a case-by-case basis. The overall assessment is that cooperation is far from being full and proactive. During the reporting period of the Annual ICTY Report 2002, nine accused were surrendered to The Hague, six of whom came voluntarily. Most significantly, however, the Federal Parliament passed a law on cooperation with the Tribunal on 11 April 2002. Under the law, a national council for cooperation has been created which will have the responsibility for coordinating all Tribunal requests. The law has one substantial fault (art. 39), however, in that it prohibits the extradition to the Tribunal of any accused indicted after the law came into force. This is considered totally inconsistent with the obligations of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to cooperate fully with the Tribunal.
NATO
Since 2002, Serbia and Montenegro has adopted a gradual and cautious approach to upgrade its relations with the Alliance. This lead to the filing of a request for admission to NATO’s Partnership for Peace program in June 2003. Although NATO welcomed the efforts made by Serbia and Montenegro, it also pointed out three admission prerequisites. These are, first of all, full cooperation of Serbia and Montenegro with the Hague Tribunal, support to the implementation of UNSC resolution 1244 and of the Dayton and Paris Accords, and the question of the FRY lifting off the case against NATO before the International Court of Justice.