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Slow Pace of Reform Delays Balkans EU Membership

02 11 2007  The countries of the Western Balkans have a real prospect in Europe, but due to slow pace of reforms EU membership is a long way away, an EU Commission report says.

By Gjeraqina Tuhina in Brussels

On Tuesday the European Commission will publish a report on its Enlargement Strategy, a copy of which has been obtained by Balkan Insight, in which it will cite the slow pace of reforms in the Western Balkans as a cause of delay in integrating the countries of the region in the EU.

The report notes that some progress has been made in bringing the countries of the Western Balkans closer to Europe, but stresses the need to maintain conditionality, keep the concrete prospect of eventual membership to the fore, and explain the benefits and challenges of enlargement more effectively.

“Given the present state of preparations in these countries, their accession is likely to occur in the medium to long term,” the report says.

The report covers all of the countries of the Western Balkans, including Kosovo, as well as Turkey.

The Commission’s evaluation notes that countries have been moving towards the EU at different speeds. Read more about progress reports http://www.birn.eu.com/en/110/10/5486/

In terms of the accession process, Croatia is considered to have performed best – although it faces continuing problems in regard to some reforms – and is likely to be the first of the current aspirant countries in the region to gain EU membership.

“Croatia’s progress towards membership sends a strong signal to other Western Balkans countries on their own membership prospects, once they fulfil the necessary conditions,” the report says.

Bottom of the list, because of its unresolved status, is Kosovo. The status issue has hindered all aspects of development and is characterised in the report as being “not sustainable”. The report recommends that the Commission devote special attention to Kosovo.

Macedonia is a candidate country but has no set date for the beginning of accession talks. Albania and Montenegro have signed Stabilization Association Agreements with the EU, and Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia have not yet reached this stage, due to international obligations that have yet to be fulfilled.

“Kosovo’s status needs to be settled to permit political and economic development,” the report says.

“The functioning of Bosnia and Herzegovina state institutions continues to be compromised by ethnic divisions. Democratic forces in Serbia are fragile. Frequent tensions in Macedonia and insufficient cooperation between political actors has affected the normal functioning of institutions and slowed down reforms. The highly confrontational political climate in Albania and the lengthy process of adoption of a constitution in Montenegro point to other challenges in building modern democracies. Croatia needs to make further efforts to promote tolerance towards minorities.”

The report argues that the EU’s policy of conditionality has been a successful spur to countries to maintain the pace of reforms, and because of this it stresses that the prospect of membership, combined with continuing conditionality, must be held out in a clear and concrete way.

“The prospect of membership has never been more important than today to help the countries overcome crises, state weakness and challenges to democracy,” the report says.

The report notes that cooperation among the countries of the Western Balkans and between these countries and their counterparts in the EU is essential in order to tackle the problem of corruption and organized crime, which affects all the countries of the Western Balkans (see progress report). The report says that “high profile cases” of crime and corruption should be singled out for special attention.

The report also touches on the current popular attitudes towards enlargement.

Following the accession of ten new member countries in 2004 there has been heated debate in pre-2004 members states about whether enlargement has been beneficial; this has been accompanied by the emergence of “enlargement fatigue”.

The report notes that there is significant public concern about enlargement and calls on member states to do more to inform their citizens about the benefits and challenges of the enlargement process.

But it insists that enlargement has been a success. Enlargement is “one of the EU’s most powerful tools,” the report says. “It serves EU strategic interests in regard to stability, security and conflict prevention.”

In order to inform the public in member states and in states that aspire to membership the report recommends that governments develop strategies to communicate the benefits of enlargement more effectively.

“The Commission will complement these efforts by communicating the EU’s enlargement policy, including pre-accession support,” the report says. “It will tackle myths by providing facts.”

Gjeraqina Tuhina is a Brussels correspondent for Kosovo`s public TV, RTK. Balkan Insight is BIRN`s online publication.