Opinion of the Committee of the Regions 2006 enlargement package — Pre-candidate countries
Date: 2007-06-06
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Western Balkans, accession to the European Union, enlargement of the Union, pre-accession strategy

C 197/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

24.8.2007

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions 2006 enlargement package — Pre-candidate countries

(2007/C 197/04)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

— trusts that the future of the Western Balkans countries lies in the European Union, and acknowledges
the progress made by the potential candidate countries in implementing the road map towards
realising their European perspective;

— also recognises that, taking a realistic view of current circumstances and allowing for all the progress
that has been made so far, serious problems remain in key political and economic fields and in rela-
tion to civil society, and that solving these problems will require considerable effort on the part of all
concerned;

— would also like to emphasise that the pace of the potential candidate countries' EU accession primarily
depends upon the outcome of the reform processes in each country. At the same time, the EU's inte-
gration capacity also needs to be taken into account;

— in that context, would also stress that this is more than just a ‘technical’ issue, given that integration
capacity not only involves the EU's institutional capacity to operate effectively but is also always
contingent on the political support of the public in the Member States for any decisions that are
taken;

— points out that whilst cooperation between the EU and the Western Balkans region is in place for
reform measures such as trade liberalisation, privatisation, regulatory reform and foreign investment
promotion, a clear framework for working together on the regional and local level has so far been
lacking; the Western Balkans Working Group created by the Committee of the Regions in February
2006 is conceived as providing such a framework, which should place indigenous social and
economic development at local and regional level higher on the EU political agenda;

— recalls that the monitoring of the enlargement process at national, regional and local levels is a major
challenge given the relevance of the issue to the European Union's future and the need to stabilise the
Western Balkans; this is why it was important for the Committee of the Regions to create a political
forum to promote the development of this process, which involves fostering dialogue with all stake-
holders in order to define its political positions.

24.8.2007

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 197/17

I. Policy recommendations

Communication from the Commission to the European Parlia-
ment and the Council — Enlargement Strategy and Main Chal-
lenges 2006-2007 including special report on the EU's capacity
to integrate new members

is also always contingent on the support of the public in the
Member States for any decisions that are taken and reminds EU
leaders of the importance of listening to the public, but also of
for
the importance of
further enlargements when the overall assessment for enlarge-
ment is positive;

leadership to secure public support

COM(2006) 649 final

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Enlargement strategy and main challenges

1.
trusts that the future of the Western Balkans countries lies
in the European Union, and acknowledges the progress made by
the potential candidate countries in implementing the road map
towards realising their European perspective;

also recognises that,

2.
taking a realistic view of current
circumstances and allowing for all the progress that has been
made so far, serious problems remain in key political and
economic fields and in relation to civil society, and that solving
these problems will require considerable effort on the part of all
concerned;

the

advocates

emphatically

continuation of

3.
reform
processes which are needed to stabilise the region as a whole;
however, is aware that long-term prospects for accession pose a
dilemma for potential candidate countries: the more distant the
goal of accession, the greater the risk of the reform process
losing momentum; However,
involve any
watering-down of accession criteria or any backing-away from
the principle of strict compliance with conditions; notes that
sufficient
in place and assistance
provided to facilitate continuation of the reform process at all
levels;

incentives must be put

this must not

welcomes all appropriate EU measures to help stabilise the
4.
development of
individual countries, especially in terms of
combating corruption and organised crime, and in assisting the
establishment of effective administrative structures, a process
which inevitably also has to involve the regional and local
levels; in this context, also welcomes any appropriate initiatives
to support
the autonomous development of political and
economic cooperation in the region;

5.
would also like to emphasise that the pace of the potential
candidate countries' EU accession primarily depends upon the
outcome of the reform processes in each country. At the same
time, the EU's integration capacity also needs to be taken into
account;

6.
in that context, would also stress that this is more than
just a ‘technical’ issue, given that integration capacity not only
involves the EU's institutional capacity to operate effectively but

that

suggests

7.
step up measures
the EU institutions
enabling the public and the associations representing them
publicly to state and exchange their views on the integration
process;

recognises at the same time the importance, richness and
8.
value that the Western Balkans, the individual countries and
peoples, will bring to the whole of the European Union;

9.
with this in mind, supports all endeavours to proceed with
pre-accession and accession processes while ensuring strict
compliance with the criteria that have been set, which — partly
in view of possible implications for common policies — must
be framed in as transparent a way as possible, enabling broad
political debate on future enlargements. This will be the only
way to secure the requisite public acceptance. The CoR and its
members will play an active role in this debate, aware as they
are that the future of the Western Balkan countries is a key test
for the vision of a shared Europe;

calls on all stakeholders in the region to play an active
10.
and constructive part in resolving those contentious issues that
are still obstructing progress towards a shared future; of these,
the Kosovo issue is without doubt of particular importance, as it
impacts on the entire region;

11.
for the period before eventual accession, strongly calls
for suitable measures which, while absolutely maintaining the
prospect of accession, would both help to sustainably enhance
the outlook for the constructive development of the Western
Balkan countries concerned, and also improve the pre-accession
process through practical steps;

12.
in this context, recognises that people living in the
importance to the
Western Balkans attach a great deal of
prospect of visa facilitation, and very strongly supports the
desire to promote direct contacts including through the provi-
sion of more scholarships for students and young workers from
the region;

13.
backs suitable measures to promote cross-border and
interregional cooperation with local and regional authorities in
EU Member States, and approaches to intergovernmental coo-
peration in the Western Balkan region encompassing as many
policy areas as possible;

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Official Journal of the European Union

24.8.2007

trade liberalisation, privatisation,

14.
points out that whilst cooperation between the EU and
the Western Balkans region is in place for reform measures such
as
regulatory reform and
foreign investment promotion, a clear framework for working
together on the regional and local level has so far been lacking;
the Western Balkans Working Group created by the Committee
of the Regions in February 2006 is conceived as providing such
a framework, which should place
social and
economic development at local and regional level higher on the
EU political agenda;

indigenous

15.
recalls that the monitoring of the enlargement process at
national, regional and local levels is a major challenge given the
relevance of the issue to the European Union's future and the
need to stabilise the Western Balkans; this is why it was impor-
tant for the Committee of the Regions to create a political
forum to promote the development of
this process, which
involves fostering dialogue with all stakeholders in order to
define its political positions;

16.
points out that through this working group, the CoR
intends to foster permanent dialogue with local and regional
political representatives in the Western Balkans. In addition, it
will encourage and support the organisation of information and
communication campaigns on the enlargement process in the
local authorities and regions of Europe and the Western
Balkans.

Albania

17.
would point out that substantial efforts are still needed
to consolidate devolved structures and thus strengthen condi-
tions for developing local democracy; administrative restruc-
turing and modernisation should help build up — rather than
break down — regional and local administrative capacity;

18.
welcomes the progress that has been made in protecting
minority rights, but is concerned that too few resources have
been put into combating human trafficking. There must be
rapid improvements particularly for the weakest in society, such
as Roma children; draws attention to the key role of players at
local and regional level in implementing the legislative frame-
work in this area in particular;

in parliament), an area which has hitherto lacked transparency;
and proposes that the local and regional levels be more closely
involved in further shaping the relevant provisions;

is pleased that

21.
the economic situation has visibly
improved, and expects further efforts to meet the obligations
arising from the Stabilisation and Association Agreement signed
in 2006;

considering the results of

22.
the local elections held on
18 February 2007, takes note of the conclusions of the OSCE
observation mission and calls for better focus on ensuring elec-
tions in line with the international standards in the future;

23.
welcomes the progress made in combating corruption
and protecting human rights, and expects continued endeavours
to be made for improvements in these areas.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

24.
notes the need for constitutional reforms and the fulfil-
ment of obligations under the Stabilisation and Association
Agreement with the EU, so as also to give a stronger impetus to
the accession process over the coming months;

25.
supports all measures which could help to achieve
progress in stabilising Bosnia and Herzegovina; to this end, it
attaches particular importance to strengthening local democracy
in both entities. A resulting improvement in political relations at
local level could substantially contribute to stabilising the overall
situation;

26.
welcomes the progress that has been made in combating
corruption and in the area of human and minority rights, and
calls for the efforts that have been made up to now in these
areas to be further strengthened. Vigorous local democracy and
stronger civil society can play an important role in this process;

strongly advocates intensive cooperation with the Inter-

27.
national Criminal Court in The Hague;

28.
supports all measures conducive to establishing a true
single market within the country, while noting that activities at
local level can play an important role in this regard;

19.
in the light of the current draft legislation on municipal
financing, welcomes any measures that help improve funding
arrangements for local and regional
levels and expand their
scope in promoting investment at local and regional level;

29.
thus, for this reason too, calls for the financial and insti-
tutional strengthening of the local level, which must be accom-
panied by the development of effective administration;

20.
welcomes improvements in public administration, and in
particular in the field of public procurement (here too, new
draft legislation is in the pipeline, and is currently being debated

calls for sincere efforts by both entities to achieve more
30.
constructive cooperation and welcomes the results of work by
non-governmental bodies and non-profit organisations in rela-
tion to the new local self-governance development strategy.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Montenegro

acknowledges the work done by the country since inde-
the

31.
pendence to build up state structures, and welcomes
progress which has already been made in this direction;

32.
in particular, welcomes the reform of local authorities,
which has kicked off with a series of legislative proposals aimed
in keeping with the work
at strengthening local government,
programme for more effective self-government;

33.
also welcomes the government's plans to set up a coordi-
nation centre for monitoring the devolution process, whose
include fuller clarification of responsibilities and of
tasks will
the accompanying financial arrangements;

34.
finally, also welcomes the new code of ethics for civil
servants, which also applies to local authority employees. The
code will help to ensure continued progress in addressing the
remaining shortcomings — for example in terms of combating
corruption — in the course of public administrative reforms;

35.
acknowledges that progress has been made in combating
corruption and welcomes the cooperation with the International
Court of Justice in The Hague;

36.
calls for stronger measures to protect minority rights.
The situation of Roma and refugees in particular requires special
attention.

Serbia

37.
recalls its opinion on the Western Balkans of October
2006, which states that all of these countries are welcome to
join the European Union, and reaffirms its continued engage-
ment with Serbian local and regional authorities;

38.
regrets the decision of the Serbian parliament to reject
UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari's proposal on the future status of
Kosovo, and hopes that, as talks continue, a constructive solu-
tion acceptable to all parties will be found; calls on Belgrade to
play an active and constructive part in consultations on resol-
ving the Kosovo issue;

welcomes the progress which has been made in deve-
39.
loping public administration and making it more effective, but

Brussels, 6 June 2007.

would also call for corresponding efforts, in line with the subsi-
diarity principle,
in the development of devolved and local
administrative structures;

40.
recommends that Commission assistance for institution-
building give special consideration to local government capacity,
in particular to assist the implementation of law and to improve
communication and cooperation between central and local
government;

urges Serbia to ratify the European convention on local

41.
self-government as soon as possible;

welcomes the progress that has been made in combating

42.
corruption, and urges continued endeavours in this field;

calls for unreserved cooperation with the International

43.
Court of Justice in The Hague;

welcomes the clear progress that has been made in the

44.
negotiations on visa facilitation and readmission.

Kosovo

45.
welcomes the efforts by UN special envoy Martti Ahti-
saari to determine the future status of Kosovo, and stresses that
a viable solution to the status issue must be found in the near
future that safeguards the rights of all people living in Kosovo;

calls on Pristina to play an active and constructive part

46.
in the consultations to resolve the Kosovo issue;

47.
welcomes the progress that has been made in combating
corruption, acknowledges the efforts which have been made up
to now in the field of human and minority rights, and calls for
further action in this area;

48.
is pleased that the Kosovo institutions have drawn up a
framework programme for local government reform, with the
aim of improving security and living conditions in municipali-
ties;

49.
although some progress has been made, emphasises that
local-level administrative capacity remains inadequate, both in
terms of the administration itself and of strategic planning.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Michel DELEBARRE

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Official Journal of the European Union

24.8.2007

II. Procedure

Title

Reference

Legal basis

Procedural basis

Date of Commission referral

Date of Bureau decision

Commission responsible

Rapporteur

Explanatory memorandum

Discussed in commission

Date adopted by commission

Communication from the Commission to the European
Parliament and the Council — Enlargement Strategy and
Main Challenges 2006-2007 Including annexed special
report on the EU's capacity to integrate new members

COM(2006) 649 final

Article 265 (1) TEC

8.11.2006

25.4.2006

Commission for External Relations and Decentralised Coo-
peration (RELEX)

Wolfgang Gibowski (DE/EPP), State Secretary, Plenipoten-
tiary of the Land of Lower Saxony to the Federation

7.12.2006

25.1.2007

29.3.2007

Result of the vote in commission

Adopted by a majority

Date adopted in plenary

6.6.2007

Previous Committee opinions

(*) OJ C 51, 6.3.2007, p. 16.

CdR 115/2006 fin (*) — Opinion on the Commission's
Communication — The Western Balkans on the road to the
EU: consolidating stability and raising prosperity

(COM(2006) 27 final)

Rapporteur Mr Franz Schausberger (AT/EPP), adopted in
CoR plenary, 14.6.2006