Messages in the Media - University of Toronto

status and the issues surrounding this. The year began with
reports in the media of the possibility of Serbia achieving
this goal.
o According to a poll conducted by Politika at the beginning
of 2011, the year commenced with high hopes,
with the majority of the respondents answering that
they expected Serbia to gain candidate status in 2011
as well as that the war fugitive, Ratko Mladic, would be
caught. 17
o These hopes continued to increase throughout the
year. Politicians on both sides expressed hope and optimism
that Serbia would be able to achieve candidate
status in 2011. Serbia’s president, Boris Tadic, set candidate
status as a goal for 2011. 18 Interviews and
statements by top Serbian and EU politicians reinforced
these hopes, such as during the visit of EU
Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso on 19
May. 19
- Perhaps the biggest event for Serbia and its EU prospects
was the apprehension of war fugitive Ratko Mladic, followed
by the last remaining alleged war criminal Goran
Hadzic. These developments signaled the crossing of one
of the biggest hurdles to candidate status.
o On 26 May 2011, Ratko Mladic, war crime fugitive, was
arrested. This was one of the biggest events of the year
in terms of Serbia’s hopes for candidate status and it
made international news, as Ratko Mladic was one of
the most high-profile war crimes suspects of the Bosnian
war. 20
o Following the arrest of Mladic, Serbia’s last war crimes
suspect, Goran Hadzic was arrested on 20 July, signaling
the fulfillment of the country’s obligations to the
Hague tribunal. 21
o Newspapers report optimism among politicians, especially
Serbian ones, that the country will receive candidate
status by the end of the year. 22
- Angela Merkel’s visit to Belgrade on 23 August 2011 sent
mixed messages. Although the German Chancellor issued
statements in support of Serbia’s European integration ef-
170