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Post an EU jobMontenegro may begin accession talks with the EU in 2010, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek announced after talks with his Montenegrin counterpart Milo Djukanovic in Podgorica yesterday (11 March). At the same time, the Netherlands' foreign minister said in the Hague that such a move would be premature.
Applications for EU membership are usually filed in coordination between the applicant country and the European Commission. The only countries in the Western Balkans to have not yet filed membership applications are Albania, Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Kosovo, which declared independence in February 2008, is a special case as it has not been recognised by all EU countries.
Montenegro separated from Serbia in 2006. In 2007, the country signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Brussels, to prepare it for entry into the European Union. Last December, Montenegro surprisingly filed a formal application for EU membership during the final days of the French EU Presidency, despite the fact that the subsequent Czech Presidency is more supportive of the Balkan country's accession bid (EurActiv 16/12/08). Montenegro's move was widely expected to encourage Serbia and Albania to follow suit by formally applying for EU membership too.
Despite being considered the country with the highest administrative capacity among Western Balkan applicants, Serbia is a special case, largely due to a condition, mainly pushed for by the Netherlands, stipulating that the country must "fully cooperate" with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
The Commission recently advised Serbia not to rush with its formal application for EU membership (EurActiv 10/02/09). But sources say Belgrade will also present its application soon, to take advantage of the Czech EU Presidency's pro-enlargement stance.
Topolánek, whose country currently holds the EU's six-month rotating presidency, said he firmly believes Montenegro could gain the status of an EU candidate country within a year.
"I hope that the process might be launched around 2010 when standard accession talks will start," Topolánek said. He added that Montenegro must first implement reforms of the state administration and court system, intensifying its fight against corruption and organised crime.
EU foreign affairs ministers are expected to discuss whether to give Montenegro EU candidate country status during their meeting on 16-17 March.
But as the Dutch press reported, the Netherlands, for one, would oppose such a move.
The Dutch government remains opposed to the EU opening membership negotiations with the former Yugoslav state of Montenegro, wrote the Volkskrant daily, quoting the country's foreign affairs minister, Maxime Verhagen. According to the paper, the minister pointed out that there is still too much corruption in the country and too much influence for organised crime.
The Czech Republic is particularly keen for talks with Montengro to start, and a number of countries, including Sweden, feel the Dutch are being stubborn, Volksrant further writes.
The Netherlands has been seen in recent months as the country most opposed to Serbia's EU accession process too. Belgrade has ratified an EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), but on the EU side, that same process has been put on hold as the Netherlands wants the country to "fully cooperate" with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. In other words, The Hague first wants war criminal Ratko Mladic to be captured and brought to justice.
Other EU countries are piggy-backing on the reticence of the Netherlands, as they too would not like to see Europe's doors opened ahead of several polls: European elections in June, national elections in Germany in September and the second Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, probably in October.
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