Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 387: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position on Serbia's application to the EU; and his position on bringing those responsible for the 8,000 civilian massacred at Srebrenica to justice [38660/10]

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 391: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he is taking on behalf of the Irish nation to ensure that persons (details supplied) are brought to the Hague tribunal and that this takes place before Serbia is allowed to proceed further on the path to European Union accession. [38752/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 387 and 391 together.

Serbia submitted its application for EU membership in December 2009.At the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 25 October, Ministers unanimously decided to refer the application to the European Commission for its opinion.This is essentially a technical step and usually happens quickly following the submission of an application.The period for the formulation of that opinion has no specific timeframe, although the Commission's research on Serbia's application is likely to take several months and a report is not expected until the second half of 2011.

The Council reaffirmed that the future of the Western Balkans lies in the European Union and reiterated that each country's progress towards the Union depends on its individual efforts to comply with the Copenhagen criteria and the conditionality of the Stabilisation and Association Process.The Council also reiterated that a constructive approach towards regional cooperation is essential and called for progress in the process of EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

The Council recalled that, in line with the political criteria of Copenhagen, full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is an essential condition for membership of the EU and that Serbia's full cooperation with the ICTY is already required by the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (Articles 2 and 4).The Council furthermore called upon Serbia to implement recommendations presented by the ICTY Office of the Prosecutor to the United Nations Security Council in June 2010 concerning Serbia's support in ongoing trials and appeals and Serbia's assistance in the key matter of the arrest of the two remaining fugitives, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic. In addition, the Council underlined that, at each stage of Serbia's path towards EU accession, further steps will be taken only when the Council unanimously decides that full co-operation with the ICTY exists or continues to exist.Negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) began in 2005. The negotiation and signing process for the EU-Serbia SAA was delayed on a number of occasions until the EU was satisfied with Belgrade's level of cooperation with the Tribunal.Ministers decided at the June Foreign Affairs Council to submit the EU-Serbia SAA to national parliaments for ratification following positive assessments by the ICTY Chief Prosecutor regarding Serbia's ongoing cooperation with the Tribunal.

I share the widespread revulsion at the appalling massacres at Srebrenica and elsewhere during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and I too want to see the perpetrators brought to justice as soon as possible.Regrettably, as we know from experience elsewhere, including in this country, justice can sometimes take time to deliver.

Serbia must do all in its power to ensure that Mladic and Hadzic are immediately handed over to the ICTY. However, I believe that we, for our part, should acknowledge the substantial progress Serbia has made in the ten years since public outrage led to the end of the Miloševic regime.Serbia today is a different place from the Serbia of Miloševic because of the courageous decisions of governments in Belgrade since then.Over the past year, in particular, we have seen a number of positive developments which demonstrate that Serbia's Government has moved away from the destructive politics of past decades.

These positive developments include:the declaration by the Belgrade Parliament last March condemning the Srebrenica massacre; the appointment by Bosnia and Herzegovina in March of an Ambassador in Belgrade for the first time in three years; the handing over of the wartime notebooks of Ratko Mladic to the ICTY in May; the joint visit by the Serbian and Croatian Presidents to Bosnia for the Srebrenica commemoration this July; the indictment in September of nine former paramilitaries by the country's war crimes prosecutor over the killing of ethnic Albanians during the Kosovo conflict; and the joint EU-Serbia UN General Assembly resolution on Kosovo this September.

I met with Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic in New York last month.He emphasised the importance Serbia attaches to EU integration and underlined Belgrade's commitment to working with the ICTY. In response to my questioning, he assured me that his government is determined to secure the arrest of the two remaining indictees.

I believe that the most likely means of achieving the arrest of Mladic and Hadzic lies in a combination of encouragement and pressure designed to empower the progressive elements in Serbia and that it is important that we send a signal to the people of Serbia that we recognise the positive direction their country has taken in the past decade. I welcome, therefore, the unanimous decision by Ministers to request an opinion on Serbia's membership application from the Commission. We should continue to assist and encourage Serbia in its reform programme, as it rebuilds its relations with its neighbours and moves towards the EU.At the same time, as with the Stabilisation and Association Agreement process, the EU will insist at each stage in the process that Serbia cooperates fully with the ICTY.