MORE than 11 years after General Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb army commander, went on the run accused of war crimes, the European Union has performed a U-turn over demands for his arrest.

Mladic, 65, is wanted on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in which more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed. It was Europe’s worst war crime since 1945.

A year ago the EU halted preliminary talks with Serbia about becoming a member because of its failure to hand over Mladic to the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in the Hague.

The EU has now abandoned its insistence that Serbia arrest Mladic before negotiations can be resumed. Accession talks are likely to restart this month.

Mladic, a hero among nationalist Serbs, is harboured by Serbia, where he enjoys the protection of elements inside the military and intelligence services.

The EU’s change of heart, supported by Britain, follows the arrest last week of General Zdravko Tolimir, Mladic’s top aide, who is alleged to have helped carry out the massacre.

Tolimir, 58, was arrested on Bosnian Serb territory. But the operation to deliver him to the Hague was masterminded by Serbia, which dumped him in Bosnia to reduce the political fall-out from his supporters and henchman.

Announcing the resumption of negotiations, Olli Rehn, the EU enlargement commissioner, welcomed the arrest and said it showed Belgrade had demonstrated a “clear commitment to full cooperation” with the Hague tribunal.

Carla Del Ponte, the Hague tribunal’s chief prosecutor, arrives in Belgrade tomorrow on a four-day visit to make a fresh assessment following Tolimar’s capture. European governments are hopeful that his arrest will encourage Del Ponte to tone down her rhetoric.

The blunt-speaking prosecutor has not hidden her frustration with Serbia over noncompliance on war crimes. The EU hopes she will be able to state that Belgrade has taken credible steps towards securing Mladic’s arrest, thereby making their U-turn more credible.

The EU’s decision to restart negotiations comes as delicate diplomatic moves over independence for the breakaway province of Kosovo reach a critical stage. The fate of the province is due to be decided by the UN security council within days.

Kosovo’s fate is the most contentious issue in the Balkans today and a wrong move could lead to instability and even bloodshed, some European diplomats fear. The West supports the independence demand by Kosovo’s 95% Albanian population. But Russia, backing Serbia, has sought to postpone the process.

“Nobody will admit that there is a link between the EU accession talks and Kosovo,” said a diplomat. “The hope is that an agreement to resume them, putting Serbia back on track towards Europe, will be enough of a sweetener for Serbia to put up with losing Kosovo.”

But Mabel van Oranje, director of EU affairs at the Open Society Institute, warned that the EU was probably “foolish” to expect Serbian cooperation with the tribunal. “The EU should stand on its principles and insist on Mladic’s arrest before talks start, not after,” she said.

Times Recommends

• Times Charity Appeal: SolarAid
• Is it Black Monday all over again for Dubai?
• Behind the scenes at the biggest deal