MEPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of the legal agreement , which regulates Serbia's relations with the EU and leaves the door open for future accession. The Stabilisation and Association Agreement SAA , signed in , opens up trade relations between the EU and Serbia in view of the country's eventual membership of the bloc. However, member states only began to ratify the agreement in June In Strasbourg, MEPs called on the remaining countries to swiftly proceed with ratification.
MEPs rejected earlier versions of the resolution which might be seen as endorsing the partition of Kosovo or an exchange of territory between Serbia and its former province. Instead, they voted through a text urging Belgrade to start talks with Pristina "without delay" and avoided referring to new negotiations over Kosovo's status. They also urged Belgrade to dismantle "Serbian parallel structures in Kosovo," referring to the region of Mitrovica over which Prisina has no control.
The Serbian authorities were also urged to adopt a "constructive attitude" towards upcoming general elections in Kosovo. Until now Belgrade has encouraged ethnic Serbs to boycott polls organised by Pristina. In the European Parliament's eyes, Serbia can only improve its EU prospects by stepping up its efforts to arrest war criminals Ratko Mladi?
On the domestic agenda, the Parliament notes that "corruption is still prevalent in the country," highlighting in particular the problem of trafficking, the proceeds of which are used for sustaining criminal networks. The Parliament also draws attention to current practice in Serbia whereby officials hold more than one office, which creates the risk of conflict of interest and corruption.
The Serbian parliament is called upon to abandon the practice of 'blank mandates', which allows political parties to control MPs like pawns. In more general terms, it calls on MPs in Serbia to align with European democratic standards "at the earliest possible date". The European Parliament underlined the need to improve access to education in their mother tongue, as well as access to information, with respect to Bosniak, Bulgarian, Bunjevci and Romanian minorities.
