Brussels, 10/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - On a visit to Serbia on Friday 7 October, the European Commissioner for inter-institutional relations, Maros Sefcovic stressed, without going into details, that 2011 "has been a good year for the enlargement process as a whole", at a conference in Belgrade. He explained that the completion of accession negotiations with Croatia "gave new impetus to the process".
Mr Sefcovic stated that Croatia's example must serve as "an incentive and a catalyst" for the rest of the region in its European accession process. "Given the commitments of the EU and the history and geography of the region, the work will not be finished until the whole of the Western Balkans are included, once the conditions have been met", he added.
The Commissioner reiterated the importance the Commission places on the reform of public administration and good governance. "This is an important element of the region's progress towards the EU and one of the political criteria on which progress is assessed", he said. If the public administration is improved on the basis of a global national strategy, the Commissioner pointed out that the countries of the Balkans face many common challenges and recommended cooperation. "Cooperation may bring considerable mutual advantages and, obviously, regional cooperation is a key element of the stabilisation and association process. It should not be compromised by differences of opinion over the status of Kosovo. Regional cooperation is truly effective when it is included", he added. (CG/transl.fl)