[JURIST] Vladimir Vukcevic [official profile], war crimes prosecutor of Serbia, told reporters Tuesday that the search for former Bosnian Serb military chief and UN-indicted war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic [ICTY case backgrounder; JURIST news archive] "has not stopped for even a moment" and hinted at progress that will "soon [will] be able to [be] seen." Vukcevic's statement follows statements by the European Union (EU) [official website] that EU-Serbia pre-membership negotiations may resume [EUobserver report] depending on Serbia's commitment to bring war crimes suspects like Mladic and Radovan Karadzic [ICTY case backgrounder] to justice. The negotiations were suspended in May 2005 due to the EU's perception that Serbia was failing to fully cooperate the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website; JURIST news archive].

The status of war crime fugitives has long impeded Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina's efforts to improve relations with the EU and United States. In November of last year, a US State Department spokesperson warned that both countries can expect no further integration into NATO [JURIST report], the EU, or other Euro-Atlantic organizations until Karadzic and Mladic are captured. AP has more.