BELGRADE, Serbia, April 30 (UPI) -- The European Union has set a deadline for Serbia to hand over Ratko Mladic, one of the most wanted war crimes suspects in Europe.
The former Bosnian Serb military chief is charged with genocide in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and other crimes, the BBC reported.
This would not be the first time a deadline had passed for Mladic's arrest and transferral to a tribunal in The Hague.
But this time there could be serious consequences for the Serbian government, which has made membership of the EU a key priority, the BBC said.
Last month, the EU decided to carry on with the talks after assurances by U.N. Chief War Crimes Prosecutor Carla del Ponte and Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica that Mladic would be arrested.
After meeting with Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic on Friday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told reporters that the EU had "no other option than to call off the next round of negotiations" planned for 11 May if Mladic were not arrested within days.
