Already the European Union has a liberal trade regime towards southeastern Europe, allowing more than 80 per cent of regional exports to enter the European Union duty free. However, the European Union proposes to go further. Free trade agreements are foreseen as part of the Stabilisation and Association Agreements, and we are already pushing the countries of the region to negotiate free trade agreements with each other to optimise their comparative advantages. Immediate free trade with the European Union would, however, be a shock to regional economies, depriving them, for example, of the customs revenue that for many governments is a key source of income. The European Union therefore intends to bring forward further proposals soon on measures aiming at further opening of the EU market prior to the negotiation of Stability and Association Agreements.
All analyses identify the centrality and subversive potential of crime and corruption in the region.
The European Union could use its experience with the 1998 Pre-Accession Pact on Organised Crime between the Member States of the European Union and the Applicant Countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Cyprus to good effect, ensuring that it is closely coordinated with the Stability Pact s third, security table. Our aim is eventually to create in southeastern Europe a sit-uation in which military conflict becomes unthinkable. As the situation in Kosovo demonstrates, we are, however, still some way from that goal. Moreover, the decision to develop non-military crisis response tools in areas such as humanitarian aid, civilian police deployment and training, border controls, mine clearance and search and rescue has an all too evident relevance for some parts of the Balkans. To facilitate this, a Rapid Reaction Facility is foreseen, which should allow us to mobilise financial and other resources within hours or days rather than weeks or months.