Council Regulation (EC) No 533/2004 of 22 March 2004 on the establishment of European partnerships in the framework of the stabilisation and association process
Date: 2004-03-22
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: European association, European integration, Western Balkans, accession to the European Union, regional cooperation, stabilisation and association agreement

24.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 86/1

I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 533/2004

of 22 March 2004

on the establishment of European partnerships in the framework of the stabilisation and associa-
tion process

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity, and in particular the first sentence of Article 181a(2)
thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

The Feira European Council on 19 and 20 June 2000
confirmed that its objective remains the fullest possible
integration of the western Balkan countries into the poli-
tical and economic mainstream of Europe and recog-
nised that all
the countries concerned are potential
candidates for membership of the European Union.

The Zagreb Declaration of the Summit on 24 November
2000 between the Heads of State or Government of the
European Union and the countries covered by the stabili-
sation and association process
the
prospect of accession is offered on the basis of fulfilment
of
the Copenhagen European
Council in June 1993 and the progress made in imple-
menting the Stabilisation and Association Agreements,
in particular those on regional cooperation.

the criteria defined at

recognised that

The Thessaloniki European Council of 19 and 20 June
2003 confirmed its determination fully and effectively to
support the European perspective of the western Balkan
countries, affirming that they will become an integral
part of the European Union once they meet the estab-
lished criteria. It endorsed the Council's conclusions of
16 June 2003, including the Annex entitled ‘The Thessa-
loniki Agenda for the western Balkans: moving towards
European integration’. The ‘Thessaloniki Agenda’ identi-
fies ways and means of intensifying the stabilisation and
association process, including the drawing-up of Euro-
pean partnerships.

(4)

Under the Thessaloniki Declaration of the EU-Western
Balkans Summit of 21 June 2003,
the ‘Thessaloniki
Agenda’ is considered to be a shared agenda between the

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

European Union and the western Balkan countries,
which they commit
to implement. The
themselves
enriched stabilisation and association process remains
the overall framework for the European course of the
western Balkan countries, all the way to their accession.

The European partnerships for the western Balkan coun-
tries will identify priorities for action in order to support
efforts to move closer to the European Union while
serving as a checklist against which to measure progress.
They will be adapted to the countries' specific needs and
respective stages of preparation, and to the specificities
of the stabilisation and association process,
including
regional cooperation. Informal consultations will be held
with the countries and, as appropriate, with the wider
international community in preparing the European
partnerships.

The European partnerships, updated as necessary, are
needed in order to assist the western Balkan countries in
preparing for membership within a coherent framework
and in developing plans with timetables of reforms and
details in terms of measures of how they intend to
address the requirements for further integration into the
European Union.

It would be appropriate for Community assistance to
focus on the challenges to be defined within the frame-
work of the European partnerships, which will provide
guidance for financial assistance, and which will observe
defined principles, priorities and conditions.

Community assistance under the stabilisation and asso-
ciation process to the western Balkan countries will be
provided by the relevant financial
instruments, and in
particular by Council Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000 of
5 December 2000 on assistance for Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2);
accordingly, this Regulation will have no financial impli-
cations.

(1) Opinion of 10 March 2004 (not yet published in the Official

(2) OJ L 306, 7.12.2000, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation

Journal).

(EC) No 2415/2001 (OJ L 327, 12.12.2001, p. 3).

L 86/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

24.3.2004

(9)

(10)

(11)

The programming of the financial resources making up
Community assistance should be based on the priorities
of the European partnerships and decided in accordance
with the procedures set out in the relevant financial
instruments.

Revisions of the European partnerships priorities may
have a significant political impact on relations with the
western Balkan countries. It is therefore appropriate for
the Council to adopt the principles, priorities and condi-
tions applicable to each European partnership.

The follow-up of these European partnerships is ensured
within the framework of the mechanisms established
under the stabilisation and association process, notably
the annual reports on the stabilisation and association
process,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

defined by the United Nations Security Council Resolution
1244 of 10 June 1999, (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Partners’).
The European partnerships shall provide a framework covering
the priorities resulting from the analysis of Partners' different
situations, on which preparations for further integration into
the
the European Union must concentrate in the light of
criteria defined by the European Council, and the progress
made in implementing the stabilisation and association process
including stabilisation and association agreements, where
appropriate, and in particular regional cooperation.

Article 2

The Council shall decide by qualified majority on a proposal
from the Commission, the principles, priorities and conditions
to be contained in the European partnerships, as well as any
subsequent adjustments.

Article 3

European partnerships shall be established to cover Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro including Kosovo as

This Regulation shall enter
into force on the third day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 22 March 2004.

For the Council

The President

B. COWEN