Select Committee on European Scrutiny Twelfth Report


21 EU Enlargement and the Western Balkans

(a)

(27019)

COM(05) 557

(b)

(27020)

COM(05) 555

(c)

(27021)

COM(05) 553

(d)

(27022)

COM(05) 558


Draft Council Decision on the Principles, Priorities and Conditions Contained in the European Partnership with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia


Draft Council Decision on the Principles, Priorities and Conditions Contained in the European Partnership with Bosnia and Herzegovina


Draft Council Decision on the Principles, Priorities and Conditions Contained in the European Partnership with Albania


Draft Council Decision on the Principles, Priorities and Conditions Contained in the European Partnership with Serbia and Montenegro including Kosovo as defined by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999

Legal baseArticle 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 533/2004 on the establishment of European Partnerships in the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Process; QMV
DepartmentForeign and Commonwealth Office
Basis of considerationEM of 21 November 2005
Previous Committee ReportNone
To be discussed in Council12 December 2005 General Affairs and External Relations Council
Committee's assessmentPolitically important
Committee's decisionCleared

Background

21.1 On 10 June 1999, at the EU's initiative, the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe was adopted, whereby more than 40 partner countries and organisations undertook to strengthen the countries of South Eastern Europe "in their efforts to foster peace, democracy, respect for human rights and economic prosperity in order to achieve stability in the whole region". The focus is the creation of a secure environment, the promotion of sustainable democratic systems, and the promotion of economic and social well being, as the fundamental requirements for sustainable peace and democracy.[38]

21.2 At the November 2000 Zagreb Summit of leaders from the EU and the countries of the Western Balkans, the region confirmed its full commitment to the Stabilisation and Association process (SAp) — a strategy explicitly linking the prospect of EU accession, adjusted to the level of development of each of the countries concerned, allowing them to move at their own pace, and predicated on their each meeting the political and economic requirements set for all aspirants. There is a high priority on regional integration measures. The EU offers a mixture of trade, economic and financial assistance (the CARDS programme) and contractual relationships (Stabilisation and Association Agreements).[39]

21.3 The Thessaloniki European Council of 19 and 20 June 2003 reiterated its determination to fully and effectively support the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries and endorsed the "The Thessaloniki Agenda for the Western Balkans: moving towards European integration", which introduced European Partnerships "as a means to materialise the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries".

21.4 In early 2004, the European Commission presented its first European Partnerships. They are updated annually.

The Council Decisions

21.5 The renewed European Partnerships list short-and medium-term priorities for each of the four countries as they prepare for further integration with the European Union. Each country is expected to respond by preparing a plan with a timetable and specific measures. Progress in will be monitored regularly by the Commission, through annual Progress Reports and the SAp structures. The priorities have been selected on the basis that it is realistic to expect that they can be completed or be taken substantially forward over the next few years. Future partnerships will include further priorities in line with progress. The Partnership priorities will be the basis for programming EU assistance.

21.6 They are helpfully summarised by the Minister of State for Europe in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Douglas Alexander) in his 21 November 2005 Explanatory Memorandum, as follows:

    "Despite progress in some areas, the Commission underlines the importance of a number of key common challenges facing the Western Balkans. Notably co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY), building effective states through public administration, police and judicial reform, and fighting organised crime and corruption.

      Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

      "The European Partnership identifies the implementation of the recommendations made by the OSCE-ODIHR on electoral reform in time for parliamentary elections next year, as well as key pieces of legislation on Judicial and Police reform, as immediate priorities. Other short term priorities in the political sphere include tackling corruption; strengthening the independence and efficiency of the judiciary; increasing administrative capacity; depoliticising recruitment to the civil service and other public bodies; practical implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement and developing regional co-operation. In the economic sphere, the priorities are completing market liberalisation (especially privatisation and land registration); legalising the informal economy; eliminating clientalism; and deepening regional economic integration.

      Bosnia and Herzegovina

      "The European Partnership identifies the key short-term priorities as full co-operation with the ICTY; full implementation of the agreement on police restructuring; the adoption and implementation of public broadcasting legislation; the proper establishment of State-level institutions; public administration reform and the existence of a real internal market. The medium term priorities build on the technical areas of the short-term priorities. The recurrent theme is the need for the implementation of agreed reforms and legislation, and the provision of adequate resources to improve the capacity and functioning of institutions.

      Albania

      "The Albania European Partnership highlights the need for short term (one to two years) results in the fight against organised crime and corruption; the implementation of legislation on land restitution; improvements in media freedom; strengthening the public sector; and electoral reform in time for the municipal elections in 2006. The medium term priorities (three to four years) cover much the same ground. The need to meet European standards is also noted, with emphasis placed on technical areas such as customs and taxation, money laundering, drugs, policing and, again, fighting organised crime.

      Serbia-Montenegro (SaM)

      "The key short-term priority areas for SaM are to ensure the proper discharge of responsibilities at both the Republic and State Union levels in line with the Constitutional Charter. She must also ensure full co-operation with ICTY, and show a constructive approach with regard to Kosovo, fully respecting UN Security Council Resolution 1244. SaM must also make further efforts to implement public administration reform to ensure transparent recruitment, professionalism and accountability and in particular to strengthen European integration structures at all levels and improve co-operation between them. It is up to SaM to pursue the reform of the judiciary to guarantee its independence, professionalism and efficiency and to review the system of recruitment to ensure careers are based on technical and professional criteria, avoiding political influence, and secure permanent tenure of judicial posts. Lastly, SaM must ensure effective democratic control over the military by strengthening parliamentary control and establishing transparent financial management.

      Kosovo (as defined by UNSCR 1244 of 10 June 1999 and annexed to the SaM Report)

      "Overall the European Partnership's analysis of the situation in Kosovo, the challenges it faces in the short to medium term and key deficiencies to address are accurate. Key priorities will continue to be the rule of law and reform of the judiciary, good governance, and institutional capacity building and creating the conditions for investment, trade and economic growth."

    The Government's view

    21.7 The Minister says:

      "The Government supports the Stabilisation and Association process (SAp) as the EU's main policy for the EU integration of the Western Balkans. There have been a number of important steps taken by the Western Balkans towards the EU under the UK's Presidency: the opening of accession negotitaions with Croatia; the recommendation to grant Macedonia Candidate Status and the opening of SAA negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro and, we hope, with Bosnia and Herzegovina by the end of the year. The Government supports the publication of the European Partnerships as an effective tool to underpin the SAp. By highlighting the areas where improvement is needed, the European Partnerships provide a useful spur for reform to the countries of the region.

      "The Government notes the quality of the Commission's analysis and welcomes its frank assessment of the Western Balkans countries' progress. The Partnerships will now be discussed by Working Group and presented to the GAERC on 12 December. The Government's view on the recommendations for each particular country is:

      Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

      "The European Partnership sets out clearly the challenges that Macedonia is facing and in this sense provides a useful policy framework for the government. Achieving these objectives will require focus and determination by the Macedonian authorities and well-targeted international community assistance and advice. There has been progress against last year's Partnership. But a mixture of inefficiency, bureaucracy and a lack of capacity has meant that despite the notable achievement of completing the legislative aspects of the Ohrid Framework agreement, overall progress has been slower than we would like to have seen. We will be looking for the Macedonian authorities to step up their efforts in 2006. This will be crucial if Macedonia is to continue to make progress towards its ultimate ambition of EU accession.

      Bosnia and Herzegovina

      "The European Partnership's key short-term priorities reflect those areas the UK identifies as key. Bosnia has made clear progress this year against the sixteen priorities identified in the Feasibility Study of November 2003, in particular with the increased co-operation with the ICTY since January 2005 and the political agreement on police restructuring in October. Bosnia has now made the significant progress required for the Commission to recommend the opening of SAA negotiations. Bosnia still has a long way to go towards EU accession, but the opening of Stabilisation and Association Agreement negotiations by the end of this year will mark a major milestone in the process, and provide useful momentum. The European Partnership priorities are useful in summarising the tasks ahead and keeping the focus on some of the most politically difficult and important reforms still to be implemented.

      Albania

      "The Albania European Partnership highlights the areas that continue to cause the UK concern — particularly organised crime. Albania has made some progress since the last European Partnership was released, but much of this is in the form of legislative reform rather than results on the ground. Disagreements between the leading political parties, a lack of political will and a lengthy electoral process earlier this year have hindered progress. But if Albania can show progress in the future in areas of concern, then its ambition of integration into the EU should be enhanced, in particular through the signature of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

      Serbia and Montenegro (SaM)

      "The European Partnership accurately reflects the various political, economic and technical tasks which Serbia and Montenegro (SaM) needs to take on in order to make progress towards the EU. SaM has clearly made progress since the last European Partnership as on 10 October she opened negotiations for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). Serbia and Montenegro's prospects for EU Accession depend very much on her ability to transfer the fugitive war criminals, Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, to the Hague Tribunal as well as comply with the other political and economic criteria required by the EU. Although SaM has made some progress in complying with ICTY since the beginning of the year, the transfer of Mladic and Karadzic is still outstanding. As outlined in the European Partnership, SaM must also show constructive participation on the Kosovo status process and this is a key task for the forthcoming months. The European Partnership also states the need for SaM to respect fully the Constitutional Charter and ensure the effective functioning of the State Union. This last issue may be overtaken by events as it is Montenegro's right, in line with the Constitutional Charter, to hold an independence referendum next year. As a result, it is possible that Montenegro may secede from the State Union. The SAp has been established in a twin-track format in order to take account of such a split of the state union, it is possible that there may be some delay in the conclusion of SAA negotiations for both Montenegro and Serbia. The latter would inherit SaM's legal personality.

      Kosovo (as defined by UNSCR 1244 of 10 June 1999 and annexed to the SaM Report)

      "The European Partnership defines progress in Kosovo as uneven. The policy recommendations for Kosovo, with a particular focus on rule of law issues, are sensible. Progress on the short and medium-term priorities will in many cases depend on the outcome of the UN-led final status process, which has now been launched. Work on these priorities and the UN Security Council-endorsed Standards will need to continue even when Kosovo's final status has been resolved. It would make sense for these two processes to be merged progressively but further work will be required to decide how precisely this will work in practice. In advance of final status, the United Nations should continue to lead on monitoring progress in Kosovo in line with its mandate under UNSCR 1244."

    21.8 Finally, the Minister says that there are no immediate financial implications, and that he expects the Council Decisions to be agreed at the 12 December 2005 General Affairs and External Relations Council.

    Conclusion

    21.9 The areas in which sustained progress is required are a by now familiar, and disturbing, litany, and one that continues to be echoed elsewhere in the region in countries much closer to actual accession. The necessary outcomes are at the heart of the sustainable democratic systems, the economic and social well-being, the sustainable peace and democracy to which the Stability Pact aspires, and are the essence of European values and practice. It is thus clear how much yet remains to be done. The EU can, and indeed should, help. But success is not pre-determined, and is firmly in the hands of the Partner countries themselves.

    21.10 We now clear the documents.


    38   For further details, see http://www.stabilitypact.org/about/default.asp. Back

    39   For further details, see http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/intro/sap.htm. Back


     
    previous page contents next page

    House of Commons home page Parliament home page House of Lords home page search page enquiries index

    © Parliamentary copyright 2005
    Prepared 12 December 2005