Mr President,

Let me once again congratulate you on the arrest of Ratko Mladic this morning.

I’ve discussed with you, Mr President, on a number of occasions, your commitment of wanting to see Mr Mladic brought to justice and it’s important to see this ambition realised today.

It’s of course a very important day for international justice and for the rule of law.

Mr Mladic will now face the charges against him in the International Tribunal; charges which are of course of a very serious nature.

One of the things I was pleased also to do today was to sign the agreement with Serbia on the exchange of confidential and top secret information.

Mr President, it’s a sign of the trust between us that we are able to exchange that information and it will be of great value as we collaborate in the future.

I also wanted to continue the discussions we are having about the future of Serbia and the European Union and to say to the people of this country that we very much believe that it will be of great benefit for Serbia, but also for the European Union, to eventually see Serbia as part of the EU.

I think as the President was saying, the events of today will give renewed energy to the process.

I have always been sure that the future for Serbia and Kosovo lies ultimately in the European Union.

We discussed today the dialogue that’s going on between Belgrade and Pristina, which we are very privileged to be able to facilitate.

This is important to make sure that the ways in which people live, in a very practical sense, are enabled, to allow people to have better lives and to get on with their lives.

We operate of course within the remit of the UN Security Council and we work closely with President Tadic and with the people in Pristina to try and further the practical dialogue And those discussions are of great significance in terms of moving forward into the future.

So again, it’s as always a great pleasure to see you and a great honour to be back here and to meet with you and your colleagues, and particularly on this day to offer my congratulations.