Opening and integration

Croatia is drawing closer to Europe; Turkey remains on stand-by; the Balkans as a whole see a prospect of being integrated in the European Community, while Iceland brings “a new perspective” to the EU.Ankara must do more. Earlier this week the European Commission presented its annual report on policies of enlargement: an occasion to sum up the state of relations with candidate and “potentially candidate” countries, with particular focus on the situation in the Balkans. A substantial part of this year’s Report concerns relations with Ankara, a propos of which EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn explains: “Turkey has renewed its commitment to political reforms. The progress of its membership negotiations depends on this commitment, especially as regards the consolidation of fundamental liberties and the rule of law”. Rehn himself first underlines the positive factors, in particular some timid signals of response to the Kurdish question and “the historic steps that Turkey and Armenia have just taken to normalise their relations”. According to the Commissioner, “concrete actions need to be taken in support of the rights of all Turks”. At this point we come, in the report, to a list of the still outstanding sore points concerning the lack of modernization of the State administration, internal democracy, the civil liberties enjoyed (or not) by individual citizens, the protection of minorities, freedom of religious expression and, naturally, the continuing problem of relations with Cyprus.Croatia and Macedonia. The Union’s enlargement is also judged in the light of the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the five years that have elapsed since EU enlargement to Eastern Europe. “The prospect of EU membership – maintains the report – still remains a strong incentive to implement political and economic reforms and consolidate peace and stability”. It is therefore “in the strategic interest of the EU that this process does not lose momentum, in full respect for the principles and conditions agreed on”. As regards the position of Croatia, which is considered the State closest to meeting the conditions for membership, Rehn emphasizes that “she had made good progress” and “the negotiations have formally resumed after the political accord” with Slovenia on the control of the frontiers. “Croatia must pursue its programme of reforms, in particular as regards the reform of her judicial system and public administration, the fight against corruption and organized crime, and the protection of the rights of minorities”. “If Croatia satisfies all the remaining parameters in time, membership negotiations could be concluded next year”. In view of the progress made, the Commission further recommends the opening of negotiations with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The document must now pass to the European Council for scrutiny, but positive signals regarding all the individual countries have now been sent out by the Commission headed by José Manuel Barroso. Macedonia itself, for example, “has achieved considerable progress and widely fulfilled the fundamental priorities of the membership partnership”; she has satisfied “to a sufficient degree” the criteria established by the European Council of Copenhagen in 1993. Hence the Commission’s recommendation that membership negotiations be opened.Power of attraction. “In this difficult context of economic crisis, the membership applications presented by Albania and Montenegro underline the Union’s constant power of attraction and our role in promoting stability, security and prosperity”. Olli Rehn insists on the “geopolitical” significance of the enlargement process, though without passing over in silence two kinds of difficulty: those relating to the countries that are asking to enter the EU, which must respect the criteria laid down by the Union; and those “internal” to the EU-27, which relate in essence to Europe’s “capacity for integration” (or “absorption”), in other words the political and institutional resilience of the Community in coming to terms with future new members. The Commissioner further points out: “Iceland’s candidature confers a new dimension on our programme of enlargement”. Then, returning to the Balkans, he declares: “the exemption from the visa obligation for the citizens of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, which will come into force at the start of 2010, will bring tangible benefits to them”.The necessary reforms. Individual chapters of the report are dedicated to Montenegro (“the reinforcement of the administrative capacity and consolidation of the State and rule of law remain priority objectives”), Albania (same observations), Bosnia-Herzegovina (“must urgently accelerate fundamental reforms”), and Serbia (“has demonstrated her commitment to move closer to the EU”). An appendix is dedicated to Kosovo, for which the Commission indicates a process that would lead to exemption from visa requirements for Kosovar citizens, preparations for a “global trade agreement”, and Pristina’s involvement in projects in the fields of employment, business and education.