Serbia has a new government whose priority is to bring the country into the European Union. The EU’s plan to stabilize the Balkans in order to draw the region into its sphere of influence made significant progress with the installation of Serbia’s new pro-EU government July 8.

While the new coalition government consists of eight somewhat disparate parties, it is the most pro-EU and most stable government the country has had since the fall of Slobodan Milosevic eight years ago.

The new prime minister, Mirko Cvetkovic, has promised to bring Serbia into the EU. “Joining the EU would enable Serbia to become a member of the European family of nations from which Serbia has been excluded for a long time due to certain unfortunate historical circumstances,” Cvetkovic said to the Serb parliament on Monday. The prime minister is aiming for EU candidate status for Serbia as early as next year.

The EU has welcomed the formation of the new pro-Europe government. “I look forward to working closely with Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and his colleagues,” EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in a statement. “The European Union expects the new government to push forward reforms and meet the necessary conditions for Serbia to move closer to the EU,” he said. “It is now up to Serbia to make the vision of its European future a practical reality.”

While Kosovo remains a point of contention, the EU hopes the coalition government’s ambition to enter the Union will temper its opposition to Kosovo’s independence. In a few weeks, the coalition government is due to vote on the Stabilization and Association Agreement (saa), an EU pre-accession agreement, which has previously been resisted because of its implied recognition of an independent Kosovo. This will be a test of how compliant the new government is—and how much it is willing to compromise to gain entry to the EU.

Stratfor predicts that Kosovo will not remain a sticking point: “A pro-EU Serbia means tensions over Kosovo will diminish significantly. The Cvetkovic government will still defend Serbian territorial sovereignty over Pristina, but will do little beyond asserting that Kosovo is part of Serbia every once in a while” (July 8).

In return for forming a saa with Serbia, the EU also expects increased Serb cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and extradition of suspected war criminals to The Hague. “I would urge you to build on recent developments by taking the necessary steps to achieve full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (icty) as soon as possible,” European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso admonished the new government. “This will allow for the speedy implementation of the recently signed Stabilization and Association Agreement (saa) and can pave the way towards candidate status of the European Union.”

It appears one of the greatest factors preventing Europe from drawing Serbia into EU membership—Russia’s political support of Serbia—has been neutralized, at least for now. Stratfor comments that Russian political influence over Serbia is set to diminish, due to most pro-Russian parties now being part of the opposition—though Russia’s business interests will continue (op. cit.).

The EU’s plan to stabilize the Balkans and incorporate the vital crossroads of the Balkan Peninsula into its vision of a federal Europe is making progress. Max Bergmann, writing for the National Security Network, commented July 8 on the significance of Europe’s inroads into the Balkans:

The announcement today of the creation of a pro-EU Serb government that will push for inclusion in the European Union represents a massive achievement. Serbia has a long way to go—but its eventual integration, and the Balkans as a whole into Europe, represent a tremendous achievement—one that represents the tremendous pull of the European Union.

Indeed, the story of Europe’s—and particularly Germany’s—conquest of the Balkans, from the time Germany first recognized the breakaway republics of Croatia and Slovenia in 1991, reveals the emergence of Europe as a world power set on building an empire. Read Gerald Flurry’s The Rising Beast—Germany’s Conquest of the Balkans for the startling significance of what is happening in the Balkans today.