ENLARGEMENT : EU TO SLAM TURKEY AND BALKAN STATES FOR SLOW POLITICAL REFORMS

European Report
November 2, 2007

In several countries of the Western Balkans, the overall reform
process "has been slowed down" over the last year and "limited
progress" on political reforms has been achieved by Turkey in 2007,
says the European Commission’s annual report on the progress of
candidate and potential candidate states towards EU accession. The
document, obtained by Europolitics, is set to be published by the
Commission on 6 November. It is critical of slow progress in political
reforms in Turkey and all the Western Balkan countries- Albania,
Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia (FYROM) in particular – but praises most of them- Turkey,
Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro in particular – for reforms leading
to high economic growth.

The report says that Croatia continues to meet the political
criteria. It stresses, however, that "sustained efforts are still
required in a number of areas, such as judicial and administrative
reform, the fight against corruption, minority rights and refugee
return". As regards regional issues, the report slams Croatia for
"little progress" in finding definitive solutions to its border
disputes. Croatia is still at odds with Slovenia over the maritime
border in Piran Bay. Recently, the countries reached an agreement to
put the issue under the arbitration of a third party, which according
to the report "constitutes progress and needs to be followed up". The
report also criticises Croatia for its decision to activate, against
the will of Slovenia and Italy, an ecological and fishing protection
zone in the Adriatic Sea as of 1 January 2008. On economic development,
the report praises the country for its "strong and accelerated growth"
as well as for its sustained macroeconomic stability, including low
inflation. The Commission is also satisfied with the pace of Croatia’s
accession negotiations. The report says that the talks "are advancing
well and are entering a decisive phase".

The report says that Turkey "continues to sufficiently fulfil
the Copenhagen political criteria". However, it underlines that
"significant further efforts are needed, in particular on freedom of
expression, on civilian control of the military, and on the rights of
non-Muslim religious communities". The Commission also urges Ankara
to make further progress on the fight against corruption, judicial
reform, trade union rights, and women’s and children’s rights. On
regional issues, the report praises Turkey for "continued support for
UN efforts to find a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem,"
but is critical of Ankara’s failure to achieve progress towards
"normalisation of bilateral relations with Cyprus," including the full
implementation of the Ankara Protocol. The EU executive positively
assesses the development of the Turkish economy, including its
"robust" growth and high inflows of foreign investment. The report
praises Ankara’s positive contribution to regional stability "in line
with the EU position". However, the Commission slams Turkey for its
objection to the inclusion of Cyprus and Malta in EU-NATO cooperation
and the prolonged closure of its land border with Armenia. On accession
talks, the report says that the screening process has reached its
"final phase". It reminds, however, that "the negotiations with
Turkey are an open-ended process, the outcome of which can not be
guaranteed beforehand".

Albania has made "some progress" on democracy and the rule of law.

According to the Commission, further efforts are needed to establish
dialogue between parties to enable the political system "to function
effectively". "Considerable further progress" is needed in pushing
forward reforms, in the area of the fight against corruption and
organised crime in particular, says the report. It is positive on
Albania’s progress in economic development. It says that macroeconomic
stability was "largely maintained," monetary policy remained "credible"
and privatisation gained "new momentum" in 2007.

Commission criticises BiH for delays in reforms in 2007. It slams the
political leaders for their failure to achieve agreement on police
reform, which is delaying the conclusion of the Stabilisation and
Association Agreement (SAA). The Commission underlines that "urgent"
measures are needed to ensure effective functioning and better
coordination of the state-level institutions. It praises BiH for
"some progress" in the area of public administration and judicial
system as well as for economic development. It stresses, however,
that the implementation of structural reforms "has slowed down"
due to the deterioration of the overall political climate.

The EU executive criticises the FYROM leaders for the lack of
constructive political dialogue in the country, which has led to
a slowdown in reforms. It urges the government in Skopje to make
further efforts to fully implement the Ohrid Framework Agreement and to
"consolidate" confidence between the political parties representing
ethnic minorities. On regional issues, the report stresses that
"renewed" efforts are needed to find a solution on the name issue with
Greece. The report praises the FYROM for its "markedly accelerated
growth" and progress in structural reforms.

The report recognises Montenegro’s "good progress" in establishing
a legal framework and institutions following independence. It says,
however, that the country still needs to make significant effort to
improve its administration capacity and fight against corruption.

"Corruption is widespread and constitutes a very serious problem,"
says the report. The Commission praises Montenegro for the "rapid
expansion" of its economy and its improved macroeconomic stability.

The Commission expresses concern about the sharp divisions among the
political parties in Serbia, which has led to a slowdown in the overall
pace of reform and has negatively affected the political climate. The
document praises Belgrade for having achieved "early positive results
on cooperation with the ICTY" following the formation of a new
government. "Serbia has still to meet its international obligation to
fully cooperate with the ICTY before the SAA can be signed," says the
report. It praises Serbia for its strong economic growth, but urges
the country to make further progress in macroeconomic stabilisation.

The report expresses concern over the strained relations between
Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs, but says that "overall stability
is being maintained, despite delays in the status settlement process
and a number of incidents" in Kosovo. The Commission underlines,
however, that strengthening the rule of law, anti-corruption policy,
the fight against organised crime and enhancing the dialogue between
the communities still remain "Kosovo’s major political challenges".

The Commission is also concerned over Kosovo’s economic development,
which according to the report is "seriously impeded by political
uncertainties, limited production capacity and weak infrastructure".