Parliament backs EU-Serbia pact, with strings attached

The European Parliament approved on the 19 January 2011 the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement, which needed the EP's consent as well as ratification by all Member States to enter into force. While welcoming Serbia's reforms, MEPs stress that full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) remains 'a fundamental condition for Serbia to progress on the path to EU membership'.