Stockholm: Serbia on Tuesday officially submitted its European Union membership application to the Swedish EU presidency in Stockholm.
Serb President Boris Tadic handed over the application to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt in a brief ceremony at the prime minister's office.
The two were to hold a press conference shortly afterwards.
The largest republic of the former Yugoslavia, Serbia, still scarred by the wars of the 1990s, faces a long and bumpy road ahead to join the club. The entry date is expected some time between 2014 and 2018.
Support for Belgrade's bid is mixed at best, according to a European diplomat, with backing from Greece and Italy but several key members -- including Britain and the Netherlands -- are more reserved.
Among the obstacles to Belgrade's EU bid are the issue of Kosovo's status and Serb authorities' failure to track down the Bosnian Serb wartime military chief Ratko Mladic.
Mladic is wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, accused of genocide, and cooperation with The Hague-based tribunal is seen as key to building deeper trust with Serbia's prospective EU partners.
The failure to track down the military chief -- accused of playing a part in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 -- prompted the Netherlands to block a key trade accord which was a step on the path to EU membership.
It only recently reversed this decision.
Meanwhile, Belgrade still officially considers Kosovo its southern province, but the territory's unilateral declaration of independence has been recognised by all but five EU member states.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 21:52