Key Notes

South East Europe

Background
The EU’s fundamental aim for South East Europe is to create a situation where military conflict is unthinkable - expanding to the region peace, stability, prosperity and freedom established over the last 50 years by the EU and its Member States.

The EU is by far the single largest assistance donor to the Western Balkans as a whole, and this via the different aid programmes aimed at increasing economic, political and social co-operation between the EU and these countries: Phare, Obnova and CARDS (Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Democratisation and Stabilisation). CARDS, for instance, has an amount of €4.65bn allocated over the period 2002-2006 to accompany and support the reforms of the countries concerned. The EU also leads on the ground. The UNMIK mission in Kosovo (NATO is present with KFOR), the EUPM in Bosnia-Herzegovina (NATO is present with SFOR) and the Proxima in FYROM are some examples of the involvement of the EU's capacity in this region to contribute to restoring security and economic reconstruction. The European Commission has delegated the European Agency for Reconstruction to deal with the management of the main EU assistance programmes in the Republic of Serbia, Kosovo, the Republic of Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

All of this represents a significant, long-term commitment on the part of the EU to peace, stability and prosperity in South East Europe. Central to this commitment is a recognition that the key to success lies with the countries of the region themselves. The Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) is the instrument to support the domestic reform processes that these countries have embarked upon. It is a step-by-step approach based on aid, trade preferences, dialogue, technical advice and, ultimately, contractual relations. In the long term, the SAP offers these countries the prospect of full integration into EU structures: Albania is negotiating a Stability and Association Agreement (SAA), Bosnia-Herzegovina has just received a Commission feasibility study on the possible opening of the negotiations; Croatia already concluded an SAA with the EU in 2001 but this has not yet entered into force due to missing ratifications from some Member States; Croatia has, however, submitted its application for EU membership (the European Commission is expected to publish its opinion by the end of March 2004); the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is in the same situation as Croatia as far as the SAA is concerned - it intends to submit its application for EU Membership in February 2004; Serbia and Montenegro (the Union State which succeeded the FRY between December 2002 and the beginning of 2003) has an EC feasibility study in progress. The Stabilisation and Association Agreement is then the next step for countries that have made sufficient progress in terms of political and economic reform and administrative capacity: it is a formal contractual relationship with the EU.

Although the EU is the main assistance donor to the region, a number of other international donors also provide support to enhance greater regional co-operation. The Stability Pact, launched at the EU’s initiative in June 1999, is the key mechanism for ensuring this aid and support. It is a political declaration of commitment and a framework agreement on international co-operation to develop a shared strategy among all partners for stability and growth in South East Europe. It is complementary to the SAP and the accession process. To make progress in sustainable peace and democracy it should be successful in three key sectors: the creation of a secure environment, the promotion of sustainable democratic systems, and the promotion of economic and social well-being. The South East European countries also aim to join the Euro-Atlantic organisations: Albania, Croatia and FYROM are already members of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.

The EP, the EPP-ED Group and the SEE countries
From 1992 to 1995, in which time the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) imploded through strong conflicts and war such as the one in Bosnia-Herzegovina, EP interparliamentary relations with the SFRY, which lasted for a decade (1981-1991), were stopped. After the SFRY split up, Slovenia and Croatia were the first two countries to be recognised by the European Union. In 1994, following the Europe Agreement, the first EP delegation was set up with Slovenia, which later became the EU-Slovenia Joint Parliamentary Committee. Later in 1994, the EP set up the Delegation for Relations with South East Europe responsible for Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

This EP delegation, chaired by EPP-ED Member Doris Pack (D), has extensively contributed to shaping the EP debate on the Western Balkans. Among the current principal activities of the Delegation are the organisation of the annual interparliamentary meetings at a bilateral level between the EP delegation and the delegation of the concerned countries, the organisation of ad hoc visits of an EP delegation to meet local authorities, representatives of the international community, or to visit certain projects, especially when these are funded by the EU; the organisation of election observation missions, if so decided by the EP authorities. This activity in particular implies a very close co-operation within the Parliamentary "Troika", constituted by the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

The strong commitment of our political Group towards the Western Balkans is very well known. We have always stressed the importance we attach to the European perspective of these countries. We do believe that the future of the Western Balkans lies within the EU, recognising the irreversibility of the process under which each of the Western Balkan countries moves towards accession, while at the same time insisting on the principle of the "own merits" and differentiation recommended for EU enlargement.

In numerous resolutions, reports and urgency resolutions, tabled and supported by the EPP-ED Group and its Members, we have always stressed that these countries should commit themselves to a wide range of reforms (judicial, administrative, social, economic) including a strong commitment to the respect for human rights, the protection of minorities and the return of refugees and to moving the fight against organised crime, corruption and trafficking in human beings, drugs, arms and illegal immigration to a higher level. Moreover, we strongly demand a full co-operation with the ICTY.

Through participation in the Western Balkan Democracy Initiative, the EPP-ED Group also established and cultivated strong links with the civil society and political parties of the countries in order to support training, education and technical assistance. To help the countries of the Western Balkans along the path to the European Union we also believe that we should focus our political action on supporting sustainable development in a framework of enhanced regional development and co-operation.

With democratic governments across the Balkans, we have before us the best prospects for creating lasting peace and prosperity across the whole of South East Europe. The EPP-ED Group, working together with our like-minded partners, is committed to turning this potential into reality.