Five years already! We both knew Zoran Djindjic, the Prime Minister of Serbia, well. We remember his deeply felt convictions, his love for his beautiful country and his certainty that it had to accelerate its progress towards the European Union. At that time, the EU had only 15 members and Zoran knew his country would soon join it.

Today, like many others, we mourn his death. We still feel as stunned as we did on March 12, 2003 at his assassination and the extinguishing of the hope and energy he embodied. Today we both have a special commitment to the Balkans, and Serbia in particular. Five years after the death of Zoran Djindjic, we want to pay him homage and express our friendship for Serbia.

Serbia is going through another difficult period. We know the shock Serbia feels at the loss of Kosovo. We are also conscious of the incomprehension of our Serbian friends when France, then Sweden, both friends of Serbia, recognised Kosovo's independence. As we have said so many times - including to the Kosovans - our two countries, like many others, would have preferred the continuation of the union between the western Balkan states. But the horrific wars of the 1990s, and the massacres their peoples suffered, dealt Yugoslavia a fatal blow.

The source of those wars was in Kosovo, and it was in Kosovo three weeks ago that the former Yugoslavia's dismemberment was completed. Our countries recognised Kosovo's independence because it had become clear that there was no other solution. How much longer could the uncertainty have been allowed to go on? So, yes, we took the responsibility of recognising Kosovo's independence, convinced that this would help Serbia move forward.

It is probably hard for our Serbian friends today to imagine that they will soon be European citizens. And yet in our view it is certain that Serbia will soon be a member of the EU, because there is no alternative. This is in tune with the march of history, because Serbia, everyone agrees, is the backbone of the region.

We want Serbia to be given official EU candidate country status as soon as possible, and are prepared to help Serbia to move towards accession, proud of its history and focused on the future. We want the citizens of Serbia to be able to travel freely within the Schengen area. For us, the visa facilitation agreement that has benefited many Serbians since January 1 of this year is not enough. It is time for the EU to open a process with Serbia with a view to lifting visa requirements altogether.

Let us work together, hand in hand, to turn Zoran Djindjic's hope into reality.

Bernard Kouchner and Carl Bildt are the foreign ministers of France and Sweden

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