Promise handover of war criminals

BRUSSELS, Netherlands, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The handover of war criminals like fugitive Ratko Mladic remains the biggest sticking point in relations between the European Union and Serbia, observers said.

Serbia's announcement Thursday that it plans to apply formally for EU membership by the end of this year came with a pledge that it will apprehend the criminals, the EUobserver reports.

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told the EU's foreign affairs committee his government is "searching every square millimeter of (its) national territory" for Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb leader accused of ordering the Srebrenica massacre that killed some 8,000 Bosnians.

A government official said earlier this week a majority of Serbs still oppose Mladic's extradition to The Hague.

At the same time, a recent poll indicates Serbs view the European Union as the most trusted international institution, the Serbian daily Blic reported.

The poll of 1,600 people was conducted by the Center for Free Elections and Democracy.