By KUNA,
Luxembourg : The European Union and Serbia signed here Tuesday the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) to promote closer relations between Brussels and Belgrade.
“We are signing the agreement. This is a great opportunity for Serbia. Its a strong signal for Serbia to join us,” Slovenian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dimitrij Rupel told reporters .
Slovenia holds the current EU Presidency.
On his part, Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic said: “We are taking an historical step today. We are making our path to EU membership irreversible.” The agreement was made possible after Beligum and the Netherlands dropped their demands that Serbia hand over former Bosnian Serb military commander, Gen. Ratko Mladic, and ex-political leader, Radovan Karadzic before signing the new aid pact.
The two Serbs are being sought on genocide charges by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. They are believed to have orchestrated the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica, and other atrocities of Bosnia’s 1992-95 war.
The agreement had been on hold since Kosovo’s declaration of independence in February.
The Kosovo independence which was recognized many EU countries had soured ties between the EU and Serbia.