Balkan-Staaten müssen sich auf längere Verhandlungen einstellen[en] 

Of the Western Balkan states currently on the enlargement agenda, Croatia and Macedonia have reached the status of candidate countries and are negotiating their accession. Other Western Balkan countries that are making progress towards the EU are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo.

The Commission’s enlargement report of 8 November 2006 recommends improving the “quality of the accession process”. Applying criteria more rigorously by introducing benchmarks and tackling issues, such as judicial reform and the fight against corruption at an earlier stage are among the lessons learned. 

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn also reiterated a point made by Commission President José Manuel Barroso earlier, saying that institutional reform is needed before any further enlargements can take place. The Commission refrained from giving out a timeline for any further enlargements.

Croatia as one of the most advanced Balkan candidate country made a good start to the negotiations, but the paper also underlines that more effort must be made. Key areas of concern are judicial reform, the fight against corruption, economic reform and continued co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Macedonia, which has been a candidate since December 2005, has seen some important reforms. Nevertheless, the report stipulates that progress has been slowing down in 2006. 

One of the most important issues for the EU to tackle is the status of Kosovo. Rehn called for a politically and legally clear status in order to be able to negotiate a stabilisation and association agreement (SAA). Serbia faced some criticism on the handling of Kosovo’s aspirations for independence, but was also praised for its co-operation concerning the smooth handling of Montenegro’s independence from Serbia. Montenegro has begun negotiations on a SAA, but the report says it still needs to work on strengthening its institutions and continue co-operation with the ICTY.

Albania has signed a SAA in June 2006, which it still needs to implement, but also needs improvements in the areas of democracy and rule of law, as well as the fight against corruption and organised crime. Bosnia and Herzegovina might be able to conclude its SAA by the end of this year, Rehn said, but also needs to make efforts on reforms and co-operation with the ICTY.

British Europe Minister, Geoff Hoon, underlined that his country supported Macedonia's EU membership bid. He said: "We want to see Macedonia in the EU and it is clear that the sooner the pace of reform is completed, the sooner Macedonia can join the EU."

Croatia's Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader, said that his government considered the Commission's critical remarks as a challenge for solving the remaining problems, according to AP.

The Macedonian government demonstrated their satisfaction with the Commission's report and said that it reflected the true situation in the country, Makfax reports. Vice-Prime Minister and Minister for European integration, Gabriela Konevska-Trajkovska, said: "The report will serve as a positive framework within which we will place our priorities for the next period". She added: "We cannot expect setting a date for negotiations as long as we have so much open issues."

Chief negotiator for the SAA for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Igor Davidovic, said "If we want to successfully complete the SAA negotiations, if we want deeper relations with Europe and better chances in the EU, then we have to improve our overall image and get a positive mark, such as an invitation to join the EU." 

Director for European integration Osman Topcgic emphasised his hopes for the cuontry successful completion of the SAA over the next months.