Brussels, 12/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 12 October, the European Commission delivered a favourable opinion on the accession of Croatia to the European Union. In its progress report, the Commission said that the country had made good overall progress, particularly in the areas of justice and fundamental rights, competition, justice, freedom and security. The remaining commitments should be met before accession. The Commission says it will “carefully monitor the progress made” by Croatia in all areas up to the date of accession.
Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle stated that Iceland had made good progress in negotiations. It fulfils the political criteria, has a functioning market economy and continues to align its legislation with EU law. However, the Commission acknowledges, difficulties are expected in talks in several areas, such as the free movement of capital, fishing, agriculture and the customs and fiscal union.
The progress of the Balkan countries is slow. The Commission repeated its previous recommendation to open accession talks with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), but regrets that the country had not made any progress this year. Füle said that progress on the issue of the country's name was crucial. “Another year should not be lost”, he said. With the new government, large-scale reform is under way, said Füle, adding that he was sure that if this could increase in future and if a solution could be found to the name issue, accession talks could be opened very quickly. The country has made progress in bringing its laws, policies and administrative capacity into line with the EU, but little progress has been made on taxation, public procurement and social and employment policy.
While Albania has made efforts in the priority areas identified in 2010, conditions for opening accession talks have not yet been met, the report states. “Considerable and sustained efforts will be required to address shortcomings in the political field”, according to the report. Albania has made some progress towards a functioning market economy but the persistent political stalemate has hindered implementation of the structural reforms that are needed, the Commission says.
The general pace of reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been very limited, partly as a result of the political impasse in the country. Some results have been achieved, for example, on visa liberalisation for travel to the Schengen area. Within the established framework of the Stabilisation and Association Process, Bosnia and Herzegovina has engaged with the EU in a Structured Dialogue on Justice. However, the Constitution remains to be harmonised with the European Convention on Human Rights and the State Aid Law needs to be adopted at state level.
Lastly, the report on Kosovo reveals limited progress, but the country is moving forward, said Füle. He announced that the Commission would open discussions on visas towards the end of the year. He said that the Commission was determined not to neglect Kosovo while the rest of the region was making progress. The Commission stands ready to help the country on the rule of law. While Kosovo has made efforts on the political criteria and on aligning its laws with the EU, it has failed to make progress on establishing a functioning market economy. The Commission also highlights the tensions between Kosovo and Serbia. (CG/transl.rt)