World leaders and investors welcomed the arrest of war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic, but while it may boost Serbia's image abroad, his capture alone cannot guarantee fast EU membership. Without Mladic overshadowing Serbia's international standing, Belgrade will now have to turn its attention towards difficult democratic and economic reforms which European Union states see as vital to push its EU integration forward. “I know that people will ... be thinking about Serbia and its future in the European Union. What I know is that we will approach that with renewed energy,” EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said in Belgrade. Pro-Western Serb President Boris Tadic announced on Thursday that Bosnian Serb wartime general Mladic had been arrested and would be extradited to the Hague for trial. The Serb dinar rallied on the capture of a long-sought military figure accused of instigating ethnic cleansing during the 1992-5 Bosnian war. The long-awaited arrest boosts Serbia's chances of becoming an official EU candidate state in October, a move Tadic also hopes will help his electoral chances early next year. It is also an important message for a region struggling to heal the wounds of years of ethnic wars that tore through the western Balkans with the collapse of Yugoslavia. In Brussels, the EU's enlargement chief, Stefan Fuele, was quick to remind Belgrade that much remained to be done: “Does it mean that it (the arrest) removes the list of the reforms, the list of the benchmarks, which are still to be fulfilled ... No. That list is shorter by just one point.” Mladic's arrest exposes the task Serbia and many other western Balkan countries still face before they can join the wealthy EU bloc. Ethnic strife in the 1990s delayed democratic reforms in the region, setting them far behind other countries in the former Soviet bloc, most of which are now EU members. There are positive signs ahead. Croatia, once a foe of Serbia, is likely to finalize its EU negotiations this year and become a member in 2013. “I think this is a great step for Serbia. I would say, in my personal opinion, that Serbia can expect now reactions from Brussels,” the EU special representative to Bosnia, Valentin Inzko, said in Brussels. “Most importantly, the whole region is now moving. Croatia will become a member state soon.” But progress for others is mired in slow reforms, corruption and regional strife. Macedonia needs to make amends with Greece in a conflict over its name. Montenegro has to prove its justice reforms are yielding results, while Albania and Bosnia struggle with internal political divisions that bloc reforms. Even Croatia has yet to convince all EU member states that its judiciary is up to Western standards of impartiality and independence, and that it is fully cooperating with the UN tribunal investigating war crimes in former Yugoslavia. In its annual enlargement report last November, the European Commission saw “serious shortcomings” in Serbia's judiciary and told Belgrade to speed up public administration reforms, although EU diplomats say they see significant progress since. It also faces political obstacles. EU diplomats made it clear on Thursday the arrest of Bosnian Serb Goran Hadzic, still sought by the international court, is important on Serbia's EU path. Hadzic is another war crimes suspect who was briefly president of a short-lived Serb Republic in Croatia. Holland - still scarred by the failure of its peacekeepers to prevent the 1995 Srebrenica massacre that Mladic is charged with orchestrating - signaled on Thursday it still had reservations about Serbian EU membership. “You need to look at the entire facts around every accession,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. “This was an important element but it does not mean that... the arrest of this man means accession. It does not work like that.” Diplomats said Serbia will have to cooperate well with the Hague tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to ensure it moves on the EU path, by giving access to documents, for example. “After the euphoria has died down, it's back to business again. Mladic must be prosecuted properly,” an EU diplomat said. He said another issue is Serbia's refusal to recognize the independence of Kosovo, which seceded from Serbia in 2008, and has the backing of a majority of EU states. Some European leaders may also be concerned that Serbia may be too close to Russia and potentially antagonistic to NATO, which bombed Serbia in 1999 during the Kosovo war. Central European powers in particular - those traditionally most worried about Russia - would much rather see Serbia show its allegiance by joining NATO than pursuing a neutral policy. “The problem for Serbia is that fugitives at large have never really been the main source of European unease towards its EU membership, but rather just a rhetorical excuse for stalling Belgrade's progress,” said Stratfor analyst Marko Papic. “Belgrade's rancor towards Kosovo and unwillingness to move towards NATO membership are much more relevant for Europe.” Financial markets on Friday underscored doubts about the pace of Serbia's progress, with the dinar steadying amid concerns over economic fundamentals and future reforms.
