EU tempts Serbs to oust Milosevic

The EU would help Serbs too if they vote out Milosevic

By Oana Lungescu in Brussels

The European Union is set to open its markets to practically all imports from Albania and former Yugoslav republics except Serbia.

The EU foreign ministers are expected to approve the trade package at their meeting in Brussels on Monday.

This is part of the EU's strategy to bring prosperity and stability to the Balkans.

It is also meant to signal to Serbs that their situation could also improve if they vote out President Slobodan Milosevic in next week's general elections.

Farmers wary

Eighty percent of imports from Albania, Bosnia, Croatia and Macedonia already enjoy duty-free access to the European Union.

This will now be extended to 95%, including a wide range of farming produce.

But wine and some beef and fish will remain subject to import quotas.

Less than 1% of total EU imports come from the Balkans, so the financial impact of the changes will be limited.

However France, Spain and other big EU agricultural producers first opposed the measure, which does not require matching concessions, as an undesirable precedent for the Union's trade relations with the rest of the world.

Politics not economics

But this is first and foremost a political gesture.

Significantly, the trade liberalisation extends to Kosovo and Montenegro, which are technically part of the Yugoslav federation.

As Kosovo is under United Nations administration, it will benefit in full.

Montenegro, on the other hand, which does not have its own customs service, will only be able to sell its aluminium duty-free.

Diplomats describe the trade package as a radical change in policy, meant to encourage reform-minded countries in the Balkans and to show Serbia the way, ahead of the general and presidential elections.

The EU has already promised Serbs that they would recover their rightful place in Europe if they vote President Slobodan Milosevic out of office in a week's time.