Balkan states gather for unity summit

By Alessio Vinci, CNN's Belgrade bureau chief

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- The leaders of the European Union and their foreign ministers are gathering in Zagreb for a summit with several Balkan countries.

The summit includes all EU member states and the former republics of the Yugoslav Federation before its disintegration in the early 1990's -- Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and what is left of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).

Albania, which was never part of the Yugoslav Federation, will also attend.

The purpose of the summit, convened by France and co-hosted with Croatia, is to encourage a closer integration between the Balkan countries.

The ultimate reward will be EU membership or at least an offer to become a potential member -- a status that so far only Slovenia enjoys.

With this summit, the EU hopes to send a simple message to the Balkan countries: normalise relations, democratise quickly, resolve differences at a negotiating table, and you will be rewarded with all the assistance you'll need, money and direct investments.

In the last decade the EU has spent $4.3 billion on reconstruction and economic development in the region, but Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslav president widely blamed for starting four Balkan wars, was considered an impediment to real region wide co-operation.

Since Milosevic's fall from power, Yugoslavia has been embraced by the international community and re-admitted to its organisations, including the U.N., the OSCE and the Stability Pact for the Balkans among others.

Diplomatic relations between Yugoslavia and its former republics will soon be established again, including with Slovenia and Bosnia Herzegovina.

Belgrade is also reaffirming its intentions to become a reliable partner in the region, and normalise its relations with Croatia, Albania and Macedonia.

But the road to reconciliation is likely to be long and hard.

A recent opinion poll conducted in Croatia showed that 45 percent of Croats are against Milosevic's successor, Vojislav Kostunica. The same poll showed 28 percent are in favour of his presence, with 18 percent undecided.

A large anti-Kostunica rally is expected at the summit, organised by veterans of the 1991-92 Serb-Croat war and sympathisers of the nationalist HDZ party of late Croatian President Franjo Tudjman.

The Croatian government has denounced the rally, and security is set to be tight with additional 1,300 policemen protecting the venue.

As at other similar recent international gatherings, much attention will be devoted to Yugoslavia with the international community and its neighbours keen to find out more about how Belgrade will deal with issues, such as Serbia's role in recent Balkan conflicts, and its co-operation with the International War Crimes Tribunal.

Croatia expects the new Yugoslav leadership to use the summit to mark a clear break from the policies of Milosevic.

The Croatian President, Stjepan Mesic, another former Yugoslav president, has said that Kostunica has so far failed to take control of key institutions, including the security forces.

Mesic also warned that Milosevic's recent appearance on television indicates that he has every intention to remain active in Yugoslav politics.

Meanwhile, the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal has indicted Milosevic for alleged crimes committed in Kosovo, and many Western countries, especially the United States, want him extradited to The Hague.

Kostunica has said he will co-operate with that tribunal -- which is expected to open an office in Belgrade -- but refuses to extradite Milosevic, saying he would have to be tried in Serbia first, but not in the near future.

The Zagreb Summit could be overshadowed by recent clashes between ethnic Albanian separatists and Serb police on the administrative border between Kosovo and Serbia proper.

Four Serb policemen were killed in what is the most serious escalation of violence in the area.

Belgrade accused ethnic Albanians of attacking Serb areas outside Kosovo, and warned that if the international community did not intervene to secure the area it would have to send its own troops to do the job.

The U.N. Security Council condemned the attack. KFOR troops in Kosovo made some arrests and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called upon the leaders of Kosovo to denounce the violence.

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November 24, 2000
EU and Balkan leaders hold key summit
November 24, 2000
Summit opens new Balkans era
October 25, 2000
Yugoslavia to restore Western relations
November 16, 2000
Yugoslavia joins OSCE watchdog
November 10, 2000
New Yugoslav government approved
November 5, 2000

European Union
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bosnia and Herzegovina
Government of the Republic of Croatia
Albanian Parliament
Government of the Republic of Macedonia
National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia

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