Global Policy Forum

By Honor Mahony

In the on-going dispute between the EU and the US on the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Balkans are increasingly feeling the pressure of being stuck in the middle. While the US is pushing for bilateral agreements exempting US soldiers from the ICC, the EU is pressuring countries of the region to hold true to the Union line of supporting the Court. A reference to this support was made in the Western-Balkans Summit conclusions of 21 June.

But the US is equally strongly pushing its case - using the threat of material sanctions as a stick. In the region, Albania and Romania have already signed bilateral agreements with the US while Serbia and Montenegro are still undecided. Bosnia and Herzegovina's parliament ratified an agreement last week but at the Western Balkans Summit, it hinted that EU membership could make it change its mind.

Serbia and Montenegro was one of the 60 countries to first sign the Rome statute establishing the ICC. However, deputy foreign minister Aleksandra Joksimovic told Austrian paper Die Presse that the Belgrade government will have to find a middle way. "I see room and possibilities for negotiations", she said. She added that it will be difficult to find a common position as Montenegro is far more US-oriented than Serbia.

Die Presse writes that an official request by Serbia and Montenegro was made last Wednesday to join NATO's Partnership for Peace programme. But there is a catch; its old army needs to be modernised and on 1 July US Congress will decide on military aid for the country.

A Brussels diplomat told the EUobserver that Bulgaria, an EU member hopeful for 2007, has also come under fierce daily pressure from the US to sign a bilateral agreement. Ceasing military aid has also been used as a threat for Bulgaria. The diplomat added that some member states are privately sympathetic to the amount of pressure that Sophia is being subjected to but outwardly are maintaining a strong censorious position.

Earlier this month, the UN Security Council granted US peacekeepers another year of immunity from prosecution by the ICC by 12 votes to none - the three remaining countries in the council France, Germany and Syria abstained from voting. The renewed US immunity goes into effect on 1 July. In 2002, under the then President Bill Clinton, the US signed up to the ICC but later withdrew its signature fearing the Court would be used for politically motivated charges. Currently, 90 countries have ratified the Rome treaty establishing the court while 139 are signatories.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C íŸ 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.