COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2019 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy
Date: 2019-05-29
Institutions: Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission
Subjects: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, democratisation, enlargement of the Union, regional cooperation

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 29.5.2019  COM(2019) 260 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2019 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy {SWD(2019) 215 final} - {SWD(2019) 216 final} - {SWD(2019) 217 final} - {SWD(2019) 218 final} - {SWD(2019) 219 final} - {SWD(2019) 220 final}  
 
 
 
I.  

INTRODUCTION 

In  November  2015,  the  European  Commission  set  out  a  medium-term  strategy  for  EU 
enlargement  policy1  to  cover  the  mandate  of  this  Commission.  This  Communication  takes 
stock of progress in the implementation of enlargement policy by the end of February 2019. It 
presents  the  progress  made  while  looking  at  the  serious  challenges  facing  the  aspiring 
Member States.  

Western Balkans 

including  strengthening 

The European Commission’s Western Balkans Strategy2 of February 2018 provided a major 
boost for the region’s European path. It reconfirmed the future of the Western Balkans as an 
integral  part  of  the  EU.  It  reiterated  that  the  prospect  of  EU  membership  based  on  meeting 
firm, established criteria is in the Union’s very own political, security and economic interest. 
It  confirmed  the  significant  progress  the  region  has  made  both  on  reforms  and  towards 
overcoming  the  legacy  of  war  and  conflict.  But  in  order  for  the  countries  to  meet  all 
their  democracies,  more  serious, 
membership  conditions, 
comprehensive  and  convincing  reforms  are  required  in  crucial  areas,  notably  on  the  rule  of 
law,  including  the  fight  against  corruption  and  organised  crime,  on  economic  reforms  and 
competitiveness,  regional  cooperation  and  reconciliation.  The  Commission  called  for 
significant  enhancement  of  the  EU’s  political,  technical  and  financial  support  to  the  region, 
including through the Strategy’s six flagship initiatives, backed by EUR 11.7 billion of pre-
accession funding for the period 2014-2020. To improve the incentive structure of the policy, 
the  Commission  also  noted  that  with  the  necessary  political  will,  the  delivery  of  real  and 
sustained  reforms,  and  definitive  solutions  to  disputes  with  neighbours,  the  current 
frontrunners  in  the  accession  negotiations  could  potentially  be  ready  for  membership  in 
a 2025 perspective.  

At  the  EU-Western  Balkans  summit,  which  took  place  in  Sofia  in  May  2018,  EU  leaders 
reaffirmed  their  unequivocal  support  for  the  European  perspective  of  the  Western  Balkans, 
and the Western Balkan partners recommitted to this perspective as their firm strategic choice. 
The EU leaders agreed on the Sofia Declaration and the Sofia Priority Agenda3, outlining new 
measures for enhanced cooperation with the region in key areas such as security, rule of law 
and migration. 

EU  leaders  also  gave  clear  signals  to  individual  Western  Balkans  countries  last  year.  In 
response to the Commission’s recommendations of 2018 to open accession negotiations with 
the  Republic  of  North  Macedonia  and  with  the  Republic  of  Albania,  the  Council  agreed  in 
June  to  respond  positively  to  the  progress  made  and  set  out  the  path  towards  opening 
accession  negotiations  with  the  two  countries  in  June  2019.  Concerning  Kosovo*,  the 
Commission reported that all benchmarks for visa-free travel to the Schengen area have been 
met  and  in  March  2019  the  European  Parliament  supported  the  Commission’s  proposal  for 
visa liberalisation in its first reading. 

The  EU’s  enhanced  engagement  with  and  commitment  to  the  region  over  the  last  year  is 
already  yielding  concrete  and  significant  results.  North  Macedonia  not  only  continued  its 
ambitous  reform  agenda,  but  also  reached  a historic  agreement  with  Greece  resolving  a  27-

1  COM(2018) 450 final 
2 A credible enlargement perspective for and enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans, COM(2018) 
65 final 
3 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/34776/sofia-declaration_en.pdf 
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ 
Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. 

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year  old  name  dispute.  This,  together  with  the  bilateral  agreement  with  Bulgaria,  is  an 
example of how to strengthen good neighbourly relations for the entire region, and testimony 
to  the  power  of  attraction  of  the  European  perspective.  Similarly,  Albania  is  pursuing 
profound  reforms,  in  particular  a  major  tranformation  of  its  justice  system,  including  an 
unprecedented re-evaluation of judges and prosecutors.  

This welcome progress achieved now calls for the Union’s concrete and fast action. The EU 
has the opportunity, and a strong self-interest, to lock in long-term positive momentum across 
the region.  The Union  must live up to its commitments  and give credit where credit is  due. 
Failure to reward objective progress by moving to the next stage of the European path would 
damage the EU’s  credibility throughout  the region and beyond. A tepid response to  historic 
achievements  and substantial  reforms  would undermine stability, seriously  discourage much 
needed further reforms and affect work on sensitive bilateral issues like the Belgrade-Pristina 
dialogue.  Strategically,  it  would  only  help  the  EU’s  geopolitical  competitors  to  root 
themselves on Europe’s doorstep.  

However,  not  all  countries  have  seized  the  opportunities  offered  by  the  Western  Balkans 
Strategy. Some stagnated in their efforts, in particular in the crucial areas of the rule of law 
and  fundamental  rights.  The  countries  most  advanced  in  the  accession  process  risk  falling 
behind  on  their  stated  ambitious  goals  if  they  do  not  also  significantly  step  up  efforts,  in 
particular  on  fundamental  reforms.  All  political  leaders  in  the  region  must  live  up  to  the 
reform  expectations of their citizens and leave no doubt  as  to  their strategic orientation  and 
commitment  to  join the EU.  EU accession is  a fundamental  choice, based on values, which 
each country must embrace more actively.  

In  parallel  to  this  Communication,  the  Commission  has  adopted  its  Opinion  on  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina’s  application  for  membership  of  the  European  Union.  The  conclusion  and 
recommendation of the Opinion are set out in annex to this Communication. 

Turkey 

Turkey  is  a  key  partner  for  the  EU  and  a  candidate  country.  Dialogue  and  cooperation, 
including at highest level, in essential areas of joint interest have continued, including through 
effective cooperation on migration and strong EU support to refugees. However, Turkey has 
continued  to  move  further  away  from  the  European  Union,  with  serious  backsliding  in  the 
areas of the rule of law and fundamental rights and through the weakening of effective checks 
and  balances  in  the  political  system,  brought  forward  by  the  entry  into  force  of  the 
constitutional  amendment.  In  June  2018  the  Council  noted  unanimously  that  Turkey’s 
accession negotiations have therefore effectively come to a standstill and no further chapters 
can be considered for opening or closing. The underlying facts leading to this assessment still 
hold. 

Speeding  up  alignment  with  the  EU  Common  Foreign  and  Security  Policy,  including  on 
restrictive measures, is an important part of the enlargement process and an important element 
to confirm that the countries fully share the principles, values and goals that the Union seeks 
to  promote  in  its  neighbourhood  and  beyond.  Albania  and  Montenegro  have  consistently 
aligned with EU Common Foreign and Security Policy positions. 

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II.  

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2015 ENLARGEMENT STRATEGY 

Pursuing  the  fundamental  reforms  more  actively  is  key  to  meeting  the  Copenhagen  and 
Madrid  membership  criteria.  Efforts  in  these  areas  are  indivisible  and  mutually  reinforcing 
and must be pursued more forcefully and with clearer political commitment.  

a) Functioning of democratic institutions 

The proper functioning of democratic institutions remains a key challenge in most countries. 
The central role of national parliaments needs to be firmly embedded in the political culture. 
Constructive cross-party dialogue still needs to take root. Opposition parties, which also bear 
significant responsibility in shaping the future of their countries, should have the possibility to 
fully  perform  their  role  and  engage  in  democratic  processes.  It  is  crucial  to  enhance 
parliamentary accountability, oversight of the executive, and democratic scrutiny.  

In the Western Balkans, constructive dialogue across the political spectrum, notably within 
the parliaments, remains to be established. Counter-productive parliament boycotts such as in 
Albania,  Montenegro  and  Serbia  remain  of  concern.  Citizens’  protest  demanding  reforms 
have increased. Mediation and dialogue mechanisms, such as those offered by the European 
Parliament,  could  be  used,  for  example  in  Serbia.  Governments  need  to  ensure  that  the 
opposition has the possibility to fully perform its role within the existing frameworks. And the 
opposition needs to engage constructively in the democratic process.  

Enhancing  the  oversight  function  of  parliaments  requires  substantial  efforts.In  North 
Macedonia, the Parliament improved its oversight capacity, restored its checks and balances, 
and significantly decreased the use of shortened parliamentary procedures to 20% in 2018. 
However, this phenomenon remains a concern in the region overall. The corresponding rate 
reaches  44%  in  Serbia,  where  the  ruling  coalition’s  parliamentary  practices  led  to 
a deterioration  of  legislative  debate  and  scrutiny.  In  Montenegro,  the  cross-party  temporary 
committee on further reform of electoral and other legislation still has to deliver. 

Elections  must  be  free  and  fair  and  the  recommendations  of  election  observation  missions 
properly  implemented.  Long-standing  weaknesses  need  to  be  addressed  throughout  the 
electoral  cycle.  The  rules  for  the  public  and  private  financing  of  political  parties  require 
substantive reform.  

In  Turkey,  the  new  Presidential  system,  which  entered  into  force  after  the  June  2018 
elections, has significantly  curtailed the Parliament’s legislative and oversight functions. 
There  is  no  constructive  parliamentary  dialogue  or  functioning  checks  and  balances.  The 
long-standing  shortcomings  of  the  system  of  parliamentary  immunity  have  not  been 
addressed. The decisions by the Supreme Election Council to re-run elections in  Istanbul as 
well as to grant the mayorship of individual municipalities in the south-east to second-placed 
candidates are a source of serious concern regarding the respect of the legality and integrity of 
the electoral process and the institution’s independence from political pressure. 

b) Rule of law and security 

The rule of law is a core facet of a well-functioning democracy. It is underpinned by free and 
fair  elections,  a  well-functioning  parliament  which  should  be  able  to  fully  perform  its  core 
legislative  and  oversight  functions  and  the  separation  of  powers,  while  having  a  system  of 
functioning checks and balances in place.  

The rule of law is firmly and clearly embedded in the EU's accession process.  It is a crucial 
aspect  of  democratic  transformation  and  the  key  benchmark  against  which  the  enlargement 
countries’  progress  towards  membership  is  assessed  by  the  EU.  Nevertheless,  credible 
progress in this area remains a significant challenge. These shortcomings often correlate with 

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a  lack  of  political  will,  institutional  resistance  and  an  increasingly  hostile  environment  for 
civil  society.  This  partly  reflects  the  existence  of  certain  elements  of  state  capture.  As 
a consequence, the rule  of law still does not apply properly to  all levels  of power. No steps 
were taken in Turkey to remedy the backsliding in the rule of law field.  

A well-functioning and independent judiciary, where decisions are effectively implemented, 
is  of  crucial  importance  for  the  rule  of  law.  Albania  made  important  progress  towards 
reforming  its  judicial  system,  which  continues  on  schedule.  The  establishment  of  the  new 
judicial  bodies  aims  to  guarantee  independent  governance  of  the  judiciary.  The  vetting 
process  delivered  further  visible  results,  with  more  than  140  decisions  taken  overall  and  all 
priority  cases  finalised  in  the  first  instance,  leading  to  88  of  the  assessed  judges  being 
dismissed or leaving voluntarily. However, throughout the Western Balkans region,  reforms 
continue  to  suffer  from  a  slow  pace  of  change  in  judicial  culture.  In  Serbia,  constitutional 
amendments intended to align the constitution with European standards for the judiciary have 
not  yet  been  passed.  Political  pressure  and  transfers  of  a  large  number  of  judges  and 
prosecutors against their will continued in Turkey, further undermining the independence of 
the Turkish judiciary. 

The  Western  Balkans  and  Turkey  continue  to  show  instances  of  widespread  corruption. 
Progress in successfully fighting high and medium level corruption varies across the region. 
While some countries, such as North Macedonia and Albania, have made progress, the track 
record  remains  unconvincing  in  most  countries  and  far  from  meeting  the  requirements  for 
membership.  High  level  and  political  corruption  needs  to  be  tackled  in  a  clearer  and  more 
consistent way. Tangible results in the fight against corruption are also needed for a stable and 
transparent  business  environment  and  to  mitigate  the  real  threats  to  democratic  structures. 
Public  procurement  remains  particularly  prone  to  widespread  corruption.  The  control 
mechanisms  throughout  the  procurement  process  need  to  be  strengthened  and  transparency 
significantly increased through robust and ambitious measures.  

Organised crime remains a very serious issue in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Important 
smuggling  routes  run  through  Turkey  as  well  as  the  Western  Balkans.  Powerful  criminal 
networks  with  an  international  reach  continue  to  operate  from  and  via  these  countries.  The 
countries have addressed certain aspects of this phenomenon and there have been important 
arrests  and  seizures  of  drugs  reported  throughout  2018.  Operational  cooperation,  including 
with  EU  agencies  has  intensified,  in  particular  with  Albania,  with  visible  results  on  the 
ground. However, overall, track records of final convictions in organised crime cases often 
remain  weak.  Some  countries  can  only  demonstrate  a  handful  if  any  final  convictions  for 
organised  crime  or  money  laundering  in  recent  years.  Such  poor  results  show  the 
ineffectiveness of criminal procedures, give strong signals of impunity, and contribute to the 
risk  of  criminal  infiltration  of  the  political  and  economic  systems.  Countries  also  need  to 
increase  significantly  the  seizure  and  confiscation  of  assets  in  both  organised  crime  and 
corruption cases, and to tackle criminal groups more forcefully.  

The Western Balkans have taken important  steps in  recent  years to  modernise the legal  and 
institutional framework regarding the fight against terrorism. Operational cooperation with 
EU  Member  States  and  EU  agencies  has  continued  to  improve  and  intensify.  All  Western 
Balkans  countries  actively  participate  in  the  Western  Balkans  Counter  Terrorism  Initiative 
(WBCTi).  Nevertheless,  most  countries  still  need  to  step  up  efforts  to  address  the  issue  of 
returning  foreign  fighters  and  to  prevent  extremism  and  radicalisation,  including  in  prisons. 
Online  monitoring  and  response  capacities  need  to  be  enhanced.  Pro-active  tracing  of 
financial  flows  should  be  anchored  in  a  more  strategic  approach  against  money  laundering 
and terrorism financing.  Turkey needs to  revise its anti-terror legislation.  While Turkey has 

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a legitimate  right  to  fight  against  terrorism,  it  is  responsible  for  ensuring  this  is  done  in 
accordance  with  the  rule  of  law,  human  rights  and  fundamental  freedoms.  Anti-terror 
measures need to be proportionate.  

There  is  an  urgent  need  to  implement  reforms  in  the  rule  of  law  area  more  strongly  and 
credibly. This is the most important condition for the Western Balkans to move forward on 
their  respective  European  paths,  including  the  fulfilment  of  interim  benchmarks  in  the 
accession negotiations on the rule of law chapters 23 and 24 for Montenegro and Serbia.  

Once  the  interim  benchmarks  are  met,  the  setting  of  closing  benchmarks  will  provide  an 
opportunity  for  the  EU  to  clearly  set  out  the  rule  of  law  requirements  that  negotiating 
countries  will  ultimately  have  to  meet  to  be  ready  for  EU  membership  in  this  crucial  area. 
Montenegro is the first negotiating country that could reach this stage, provided the country 
addresses the shortcomings in the critical areas of media freedom, fight against corruption and 
trafficking in human beings. 

The  nature  of  the  interim  benchmarks  for  the  rule  of  law  is  primarily  to  ensure  that  the 
institutional and legislative set-up of the country concerned is in place and that an initial track 
record  of  implementation  has  been  achieved.  Once  this  framework  is  in  place,  the 
Commission will propose closing benchmarks to the EU Member States. These benchmarks 
would  be  predominantly  focused  on  delivery  of  tangible  results  and  the  establishment  of 
strong, credible and sustainable track records of implementation.  

c) Fundamental rights  

Fundamental  rights  are  largely  enshrined  in  the  legislation  in  the  Western  Balkans. 
However, serious efforts are needed to step up implementation. Turkey has seen a continued 
strong deterioration in key human rights over the reporting period.  

Developments  in  the  area  of  freedom  of  expression  and  the  independence  of  the  media 
across  the  region  are  of  growing  concern.  There  has  been  a  serious  backsliding  in  Turkey, 
where the exercise of the freedom of expression has been hampered considerably and where 
over 160 journalists remain in prison, one of the highest number in the world. 

Very  limited  efforts  were  noted  across  the  Western  Balkans.  Overall,  physical  and  verbal 
intimidation  has  continued  and  investigations  and  prosecutions  remain  slow.  Efforts  to 
influence the independence of public service broadcasters, non-transparent public and private 
funding of the media and distorted advertisement market are commonplace in all countries in 
the  region.  The  media  business  environment  is  also  characterised  by  frequent  political 
interference  and  opaque  media  ownership  that  undermine  the  sustainability  of  independent 
media. The EU continues its strong support for local civil society organisations, human rights 
defenders, journalists and independent media outlets.  

Effectively  addressing  abuses  of  child  rights  requires  increased  efforts  across  the  Western 
Balkans and Turkey. Governments also need to address discrimination against persons with 
disabilities, minorities and other vulnerable groups. Moreover, greater efforts are required to 
ensure  gender  equality  and  to  prevent  and  address  discrimination  and  violence  against 
women.  Progress  has  been  made  on  the  rights  of  lesbian,  gay,  bisexual,  transgender  and 
intersex persons in  the Western Balkans. However, significant  efforts  are needed to  address 
discrimination  and  in  particular  hate  speech  and  violence.  Roma  continue  to  face  social 
exclusion,  marginalisation  and  discrimination.  Prison  conditions  continue  to  require 
improvement. In Turkey, despite the lifting of the state of emergency, most of the measures 
introduced  during  the  state  of  emergency  remain  in  force,  including  those  curtailing  key 
procedural rights such as the rights of defence, and the right to an effective remedy.  

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d) Public administration reform  

Public  administration  reform  is  essential  for  improving  governance  at  all  levels.  This 
includes  the quality  and  accountability  of the administration, professionalisation of the civil 
service  and  de-politicisation,  sound  public  financial  management,  and  ensuring  quality 
services  to  citizens  and  businesses.  There  has  been  moderate  progress  in  this  area  in  the 
Western Balkans. Turkey has seen serious backsliding in the area of civil service, which has 
also  affected  policy  planning  and  accountability,  as  a  result  of  a  major  re-structuring  of  the 
public administration and civil service system through presidential decrees. 

There has been some progress with improving policy planning, but further efforts are needed 
to  ensure  a  strong  quality  control  by  central  governments.  Policies,  legislation  and  public 
investments  are  still  often  prepared  without  impact  assessments  and  inter-institutional  and 
public consultations. Significant efforts are needed to ensure transparent and effective public 
procurement.  An  early  alignment  with  the  EU  acquis,  together  with  an  effective  public 
internal control system, is required to reduce wasteful use of resources, fraud and corruption.  

Professionalisation  of  the  civil  service  still  needs  to  be  ensured  in  most  countries  and 
excessive politicisation addressed. The structure of the state administration should ensure 
effective  lines  of  accountability.  Most  countries  have  made  efforts  to  improve  services  to 
citizens  and  businesses,  especially  e-services,  but  further  coordination  is  needed  between 
various initiatives and the overall public administration reform.  

The  role  of  regional  and  local  authorities  in  the  EU  alignment  process  and  eventual 
application  of  EU  rules  needs  to  be  taken  into  account.  An  appropriate  balance  between 
central,  regional  and  local  government  needs  to  be  found  that  best  supports  the 
implementation of reforms and the delivery of services to citizens.  

e) Migration    

The refugee crisis and irregular  migration have been key challenges for both the EU and 
the  Western  Balkans  and  Turkey.  Cooperation  continued  through  the  joint  work  along  the 
Eastern Mediterranean/Western Balkans migratory routes. Smuggling of migrants and human 
trafficking  remain  of  concern.  Partner  countries  should  take  further  steps  to  ensure  full 
alignment with the EU visa policy. 

The  EU-Turkey  Statement4  of  March  2016  has  continued  to  deliver  concrete  results  in 
reducing irregular and dangerous  crossings  and in saving lives in the Aegean Sea.  Irregular 
arrivals  are  97%  lower  than  the  period  before  the  Statement  became  operational,  while  the 
number  of  lives  lost  at  sea  has  decreased  substantially.  Turkey’s  law  enforcement  agencies 
have intensified their efforts in the reporting period.  

Turkey  has  continued  to  make  remarkable  efforts  in  hosting  more  than  3.6  million 
registered refugees from Syria and around 370 000 refugees from other countries. The EU 
continued to support the country in tackling this challenge. The EU Facility for Refugees in 
Turkey5  with  a  total  budget  of  EUR  6  billion  continues  to  address  the  humanitarian  and 
development needs of refugees and host communities. The first tranche of EUR 3 billion has 
been fully contracted. Results have been clearly visible and very effective:  some 1.6 million 
refugees currently benefit from monthly cash transfers via the Emergency Social Safety Net, 

4 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/03/18/eu-turkey-statement/ 
5 Commission Decision C(2015) 9500 of 24.11.2015 on the coordination of the actions of the Union and of the 
Member  States  through  a  coordination  mechanism  –  the  Refugee  Facility  for  Turkey,  as  amended  by 
Commission Decision C(2016)855 of 10.2.2016.  

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5 million  primary  health  care  consultations  have  been  delivered,  and  the  families  of  over 
494 000  children  attending  school  having  received  financial  support.  Implementation  of  the 
second  tranche  of  EUR  3 billion  is  underway.  The  Facility  continues  to  be  a  flagship 
coordination mechanism allowing for swift, efficient and effective delivery of EU assistance.  

In the Western Balkans, the continuation of  EU-coordinated  response measures supporting 
national  efforts  resulted  in  a  further  35%  reduction  in  irregular  arrivals  on  this  route  in  the 
reporting period, continuing the downward trend of 2017. However, more needs to be done to 
better equip countries to manage migration, including efforts to better manage borders and to 
reduce  irregular  migration.  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  faced  an  influx  of  more  than  20  000 
migrants and refugees in 2018. The EU continues to support the region, building the partners’ 
capacity  in  the  management  of  migration  flows,  establishing  asylum  procedures,  return 
mechanisms  and  information  exchange.  Negotiations  have  been  completed  on  status 
agreements with five countries of the region allowing for the deployment of European Border 
and Coast Guard teams with executive powers in the zones bordering the EU external border 
in support of national border authorities. The agreement with Albania has entered into force, 
and  first  border  guards  have  been  deployed.  Western  Balkans  countries  need  to  strengthen 
their efforts to address the issue of unfounded asylum applications from citizens of the region 
in EU Member States. 

f) Economy  

The  economies  of  the  Western  Balkans  and  Turkey  still  face  major  challenges  that  do  not 
allow them to  take full  advantage of their economic potential. Despite some acceleration of 
growth, job creation and increases in income in the last years, the countries are still lagging 
behind in reforming their economic structures and improving competitiveness. They still face 
high  unemployment  rates,  in  particular  among  youth,  large  skills  mismatches,  persistent 
informal economy, unfriendly business environments, and low levels of innovation.  

In  Turkey, serious  backsliding  in  the economy  continued, leading to deeper  concerns over 
the functioning of the country’s market economy. Economic conditions worsened in 2018 as 
a result  of  a  sharp  deterioration  of  the  financing  conditions  that  exposed  macroeconomic 
vulnerabilities  built  up  over  years.  Economic  governance  deteriorated  further  with 
increased State interference in the economy. Turkey needs to reverse the trend of backsliding 
in market reforms.  

In  the  Western  Balkans,  the  investment  climate  remained  largely  unchanged  and  is 
characterised by weak rule of law, the lack of adequate enforcement of State aid control, an 
entrenched  grey  economy,  poor  access  to  finance  and  low  level  of  regional  integration  and 
connectivity.  State  interference  in  the  economy  persists,  exacerbating  the  risk  of  corruption 
through  weak  public  financial  management  and  frequent  changes  in  the  regulatory 
environment  and  taxes.  There  is  a  strong  need  to  upgrade  infrastructure  and  investments 
should  be  channelled  through  single  project  pipelines  and  be  consistent  with  the  priorities 
agreed with the EU. The decisions on major investments should be based on transparency and 
solid  due  diligence  as  is  the  case  with  the  connectivity  projects  financed  via  the  Western 
Balkans Investment Framework.  

Regional integration is a key factor for raising living standards in the Western Balkans. The 
creation  of  a  Regional  Economic  Area  (REA)  brings  more  competition  and  allows 
economies  of  scale  and  productivity  gains.  A  regional  market  will  unleash  intra-regional 
trade, and would make the Western Balkans a more attractive investment destination. Market 
integration based on EU rules and standards will help create opportunities for developing new 
value  chains  and  increasing  the  attractiveness  of  the  region  for  foreign  direct  investments, 
including  from  the  EU.  Enhanced  connectivity  in  transport  and  energy  will  accelerate  the 

7 

 
 
 
 
integration of the region into pan European networks, while strengthening competitive energy 
markets  and  developing  economic  corridors  over  the  region.  The  Transport  Community 
Treaty,  which  has  now  been  ratified  by  all  parties,  will  support  and  strengthen  the 
implementation  of  the  conectivity  agenda.  The  creation  of  a  digital  space  and  of  more 
integrated labour markets also offer new possibilities for youth in the region.  

A new Regional Roaming Agreement signed in April 2019 will bring significant benefits to 
citizens  and  businesses  in  the  region.  It  will  lead  to  a  progressive  reduction  of  roaming 
charges  as  of  July  2019  (decrease  in  the  retail  price  of  data  transfer  and  calls  by  25%  and 
SMS by 33%) and to the elimination of roaming charges as of July 2021. Mobile subscribers 
from  the  region  will  enjoy  the  full  benefits  of  their  domestic  package  when  roaming  in  the 
Western  Balkans,  at  no  additional  cost.  The  agreement  also  opens  the  way  to  prepare 
a roadmap for reducing roaming costs between the Western Balkans and the EU, as set out in 
the Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans.  

The  EU  remains  by  far  the  biggest  trading  partner  of  the  Western  Balkans  for  both 
imports (73.5%) and exports (80.6%). EU companies are the biggest investors in the region, 
providing 73% of foreign direct investment. They are thus the main external driver of growth 
and jobs in the region. It is key to strengthen the resilience of the region to ensure the full 
adherence  of  any  foreign–funded  economic  activity  to  EU  values,  norms  and  standards, 
notably  in  key  areas  such  as  the  rule  of  law,  public  procurement,  environment,  energy, 
infrastructure  and  competition.  China's  business  and  investment  activity  in  the  Western 
Balkans has been on the rise and can in principle offer opportunities for the region; however, 
these investments very frequently neglect socio-economic and financial sustainability and EU 
rules  on  public  procurement,  and  may  result  in  high  levels  of  indebtedness  and  transfer  of 
control over strategic assets and resources. This means that the partner countries should fully 
implement the letter and spirit of the Stabilisation and Association Agreements with the EU 
and prioritise reforms  in  the relevant  negotiation chapters of the accession process.  The EU 
should  guide  these  reforms  more  robustly,  including  taking  this  into  account  in  future 
negotiating frameworks. 

The EU supports better economic governance in the Western Balkans and Turkey through the 
annual Economic Reform Programme process. This process, which is an integral part of the 
preparation for EU membership, has become the key tool for formulating and implementing 
macroeconomic  and  structural  reforms  designed  to  raise  competitiveness  and  boost  growth 
and  job  creation.  It  helps  to  strengthen  long-term  sustainable  growth  and  convergence, 
facilitates policy formulation, and progress towards meeting the accession economic criteria. 
A stronger focus is needed on increasing ownership in order to improve the implementation of 
the identified reforms.  

Economic development and increasing employment is essential also to stem the demographic 
challenges of the Western Balkans, with high emigration and low birth rates. Without stronger 
economies  and  democratic  governance  generally,  these  phenomena  will  continue,  with  the 
associated risks of widespread disenchantment, especially among the youth, and brain drain. 

g) Regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations 

The EU's enlargement policy must continue to export stability. Therefore, the EU cannot and 
will not import bilateral disputes and the instability they can entail. Definitive and binding 
solutions  which  contribute  to  regional  stability  must  be  found  and  implemented  before 
a country  accedes.  The  historic  agreement  reached  between  North  Macedonia  and  Greece 
resolving  a  27-year  old  name  dispute  sets  an  example  of  reconciliation  for  the  region  and 
beyond. However, further strong and convicing efforts are urgently needed across the Western 
Balkans.  Relations  between  Pristina  and  Belgrade  worsened,  most  visibly  with  Kosovo’s 

8 

 
 
 
 
decision  to  impose  100%  tariffs  on  imports  from  Serbia  and  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  in 
violation of the Central European Free Trade Agreement, the latest in a series of provocations 
by both sides. Kosovo must revoke this decision as a matter of urgency and both sides must 
refrain  from further actions that could  be seen as provocative. Urgent  progress  is  needed in 
the  EU-facilitated  Dialogue  towards  the  full  normalisation  of  relations  between  Serbia  and 
Kosovo,  which  should  result  in  concluding  and  implementing  a comprehensive,  legally 
binding normalisation agreement. 

Good  neighbourly  relations  and  regional  cooperation  are  essential  elements  of  the 
Stabilisation  and  Association  and  enlargement  processes.  The  Sofia  summit  brought 
a renewed  commitment  to  strengthening  good  neighbourly  relations,  regional  stability  and 
mutual cooperation. Regular government-to-government contacts and technical dialogue and 
cooperation  at  bilateral  and  regional  level  continued.  However,  more  efforts  are  needed,  in 
particular in the most sensitive areas. Regional cooperation should be enhanced especially on 
war  crimes,  including  through  reconciliation  initiatives,  such  as  the  establishment  of  a 
regional  truth  commission.  Further  efforts  are  also  needed  in  the  area  of  missing  persons, 
where  the  adoption  of  the  regional  framework  action  plan  is  an  important  step  forward. 
Statements  or  actions  which  negatively  impact  on  good  neighbourly  relations  should  be 
avoided.  There  is  no  place  in  the  EU  for  inflammatory  rhetoric  or  the  glorification  of  war 
criminals, from any side.  

Regional  cooperation  continued,  with  the  EU’s  connectivity  agenda  playing  an  important 
role,  notably  through  the  agreed  action  plan  for  a  Regional  Economic  Area,  developing 
transport and energy networks, digital agenda and implementation of youth mobility projects 
supported  through  the  Regional  Youth  Cooperation  Office.  The  Erasmus+  programme  has 
continued to foster inter-cultural dialogue in higher education and amongst young people. The 
South East European Cooperation Process and other regional initiatives have also contributed 
to  fostering  stabilisation  and  cooperation.  There  has  been  some  progress  in  delivering 
connectivity projects on the ground. However, further substantial efforts  are needed to meet 
the  outstanding  obligations  from  regional  agreements  and  commitments  and  to  make  these 
operational,  including  as  regards  the  implementation  of  the  connectivity  reform  measures 
agreed in 2015. The connectivity and environmental priorities in the region will in particular 
require strong synergies with surrounding Member States, including through the EU Strategy 
for  the  Adriatic  Ionian  Region.  There  should  be  no  obstruction  of  full  and  inclusive 
participation  of  all  Western  Balkans  partners  in  regional  cooperation  initiatives  and  events. 
Generally,  regional  cooperation  cannot  be  imposed  from  outside  but  must  be  driven  more 
actively  by  the  countries  of  the  region,  which  needs  to  take  full  ownership  of  efforts 
contributing to stability, reconciliation and increased economic opportunities. 

Building on the declaration signed at the February 2019 ministerial meeting on clean energy 
transition,  there  is  considerable  scope  for  the  Western  Balkans  to  embark  on  a  “Green 
Agenda” for the region to address environmental issues, ranging from waste disposal and air 
pollution to  broader issues such as climate change. This  would not  only  directly benefit the 
health and well-being of their citizens, but also make the region attractive for investments and 
tourism,  and  untap  the  significant  economic  potential  of  green  growth  and  the  circular 
economy.  

It  is  important  to  preserve  the  progress  made  so  far  in  the  United  Nations-led  settlement 
talks on Cyprus and to pursue preparations for a fair, comprehensive and viable settlement, 
including in its external aspects. Turkey's continued commitment and contribution in concrete 
terms to the negotiations on a fair, comprehensive and viable settlement of the Cyprus issue 
within the UN framework will be of paramount importance. Turkey needs to urgently fulfil its 

9 

 
 
 
 
obligation  of  fully  implementing  the  Additional  Protocol  to  the  EU-Turkey  Association 
Agreement  and  make  progress  towards  normalisation  of  relations  with  the  Republic  of 
Cyprus.  The  Commission  urges  Turkey  to  avoid  any  kind  of  threat,  source  of  friction  or 
action that damages good neighbourly relations and the peaceful settlement of disputes. The 
Commission stresses all the sovereign rights of EU Member States. This includes, inter alia, 
the  right  to  enter  into  bilateral  agreements  and  to  explore  and  exploit  natural  resources  in 
accordance  with  the  EU  acquis  and  international  law,  including  the  UN  Convention  on  the 
Law of the Sea.  

h) Pre-accession financial assistance in the next Multi-annual Financial Framework 
The proposal of the Commission for the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) 
under  the  next  multiannual  financial  framework  2021-2027  foresees  a  solid  policy-driven 
approach,  with  more  strategic  and  dynamic  deployment  of  assistance,  putting  the 
fundamental requirements for membership at the core of the instrument. By further focusing 
EU  financial  assistance  on  key  priorities,  the  proposed  IPA  III  will  provide  even  bigger 
leverage  for  supporting  reforms  and  bring  the  partners  closer  to  the  Union’s  values  and 
standards. The new IPA III is expected to balance in-built performance, incentivising partners 
which  progress,  and  in  a  balanced  way  ensuring  all  partners  receive  fair-share  support  to 
assist them in their reform efforts.   
This year sees the 10th anniversary of the Western Balkan Investment Framework (WBIF). 
This  successful  cooperation  and  coordination  platform,  led  by  the  Commission,  brings 
together  international  and  national  financing  institutions  as  well  as  bilateral  donors  and  the 
beneficiaries.  Over  the  years,  it  has  been  instrumental  in  preparing  and  financing  important 
infrastructure  projects  in  the  Western  Balkans  linked  to  connectivity,  but  also  in  the 
environment  and  social  sector.  The  EU  has  contributed  EUR  925  million  in  pre-accession 
funds, which have leveraged so far EUR 5.4 billion of signed loans and estimated investments 
of  more  than  EUR  18  billion.  In  line  with  the  Western  Balkan  Strategy,  the  WBIF  will  be 
further expanded in strategic and financial terms.  

III.   CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS  

The  EU  accession  process  continues  to  be  built  on  established  criteria,  fair  and  rigorous 
conditionality,  and  the  principle  of  own  merits.  EU  accession  requires  implementation  of 
complex reforms  in  a challenging  environment,  an objective which can only be  achieved in 
the long term.  

Based  on  the  above  analysis  and  the  assessments  in  the  country  summaries  in  annex,  the 
Commission puts forward the following conclusions and recommendations: 

I 

1.  A credible enlargement policy is a geostrategic investment in peace, stability, security 
and  economic  growth  in  the  whole  of  Europe.  It  is  also  part  and  parcel  of  the  larger 
strategy to strengthen the Union by 2025. The EU and its partners aspiring to membership 
face  common  opportunities  but  also  challenges  like  migration,  organised  crime  and 

6 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Instrument for Pre-
accession Assistance (IPA III), COM(2018) 465 final 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
  
 
terrorism.  Preparing  the  countries  concerned  to  meet  all  membership  requirements 
continues to be one of the EU’s key political priorities.  

2.  Turkey  remains  a  key  partner  for  the  European  Union  in  several  areas  of  joint  interest. 
The Commission’s Western  Balkans Strategy of  February 2018 created new momentum 
across  the  region  and  greater  engagement  by  the  EU  and  its  Member  States.  Still,  the 
uptake by the countries concerned of this historic window of opportunity varies. Albania 
and  North  Macedonia  have  embraced  the  opportunity  and  delivered  on  reforms,  in 
particular  in  the  areas  set  unanimously  by  the  Council  conclusions  of  June  2018. 
Montenegro  and  Serbia  are  yet  to  act  with  greater  determination  and  increase  their 
efforts  in  crucial  areas.  Bosnia  and Herzegovina  faces  many  structural  challenges.  The 
Commission’s  Opinion  on  the  country’s  EU  membership  application  provides  a 
comprehensive roadmap for reforms, providing new momentum to the country in its EU 
integration  process.  Kosovo  should  put  the  political  focus  back  on  advancing  on  its 
European path.  

3.  For  the  process  to  move  forward,  accession  candidates  need  as  a  matter  of  priority  to 
deliver  more  swiftly  genuine  and  sustainable  results  on  key  issues  reflected  in  the 
principle of ‘fundamentals  first’:  the rule of law, justice reform,  fight  against corruption 
and organised crime, security, fundamental  rights, functioning  of democratic institutions 
and  public  administration  reform,  as  well  as  on  economic  development  and 
competitiveness. There is also an urgent need for the Western Balkans to make progress 
on  reconciliation,  good  neighbourly  relations  and  regional  cooperation,  following  the 
example of the historic agreement between North Macedonia and Greece.  

4.  The  EU  has  long  supported  the  European  perspective  of  the  entire  Western  Balkans 
region, as reaffirmed last year. As stated in the Commission’s Western Balkans Strategy, 
none of the countries currently fulfill the membership criteria. Getting there requires years 
of  intensified  hard  work  and  results.  Also,  the  Union  itself  must  be  stronger  and  more 
solid  before  it  can  be  bigger7.  Yet,  a  firm  and  credible  perspective  for  all  countries 
remains essential to drive this transformation, foster reconciliation, export stability to the 
region  and  promote  EU  values,  norms  and  standards.  The  EU  must  stick  to  its 
commitments and respond clearly and positively to the objective results achieved by the 
countries in relation to the conditions it has set. This is a strategic investment not only in 
the region’s future, but first and foremost in the EU’s own political and economic interest.  

5.  The EU remains the main external driver of growth and jobs in the Western Balkans. The 
full adherence of any foreign economic activity to EU values, norms and standards is key 
for  the  region’s  success,  notably  in  areas  such  as  the  rule  of  law,  competition,  public 
procurement,  environment,  energy  and  infrastructure.  China's  increased  business  and 
investment  activity  in  the  region  can  in  principle  offer  opportunities;  however,  these 
investments  very  frequently  neglect  socio-economic  and  financial  sustainability.  This 
underlines the importance of partner countries fully implementing the spirit and specific 
provisions  of  the  Stabilisation  and  Association  Agreements  with  the  EU  in  the  above 
mentioned areas and prioritising the relevant reforms in the accession process. 

7  This  is  why,  in  line  with  its  Roadmap  for  a  More  United,  Stronger  and  more  Democratic  Union,  the 
Commission has put forward a number of initiatives aimed at improving the democratic, institutional and policy 
framework for the Union of 2025, based on the current Treaties. 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
II 

6.  Turkey remains a key partner for the European Union in areas of joint interest, ranging 
from migration and counter-terrorism to energy, transport and trade. The General Affairs 
Council conclusions of June 2018 stated that under the currently prevailing circumstances, 
Turkey’s  accession  negotiations  have  effectively  come  to  a  standstill  and  no  further 
chapters  can  be  considered  for  opening  or  closing.  The  underlying  facts  leading  to  this 
assessment still hold. The Turkish government’s repeated commitment to the objective of 
EU accession has not been matched by corresponding measures and reforms, and the EU’s 
serious  concerns  on  continued  negative  developments  in  the  rule  of  law,  fundamental 
rights and the judiciary have not been addressed. 

After  the  lifting  of  the  state  of  emergency  in  July  2018,  Turkey  introduced  many  of  its 
more  repressive  elements  into  current  legislation.  The  new  presidential  system  removed 
many of the checks and balances that existed previously. It has led to further politicisation 
of the public administration and the judiciary. 

The  June  2018  presidential  and  parliamentary  elections  and  the  March  2019  municipal 
elections were marked by strong turnouts. Voters had a genuine choice despite the evident 
lack of conditions for contestants to compete on an equal and fair basis. The ruling party 
enjoyed a notable advantage, also via excessive coverage by government-affiliated public 
and private media. After the municipal elections, the Supreme Election Council declared 
four elected mayors and members of municipal councils ineligible to assume office in the 
south-east  of  Turkey,  even  though  their  candidacies  had  been  validated  before  the 
elections. It also annulled the metropolitan mayoral elections in Istanbul and scheduled a 
re-run for 23 June. The decisions by the Supreme Election Council to re-run elections in 
Istanbul as well as to grant the mayorship of individual municipalities in the south-east to 
second-placed  candidates  are  a  source  of  serious  concern  regarding  the  respect  of  the 
legality  and  integrity  of  the  electoral  process  and  the  institution’s  independence  from 
political pressure. They go against the very core of a democratic electoral process - that is 
to ensure that the will of the people prevails. 

There has been serious backsliding in the areas of freedom of expression, assembly, and 
association. Turkey needs to improve the effective protection of fundamental rights,  and 
adopt and implement a comprehensive and credible reform of the judiciary that restores its 
independence.  

Serious  backsliding  also  continued  in  the  Turkish  economy,  leading  to  deeper  concerns 
over  functioning  of  the  country’s  market  economy.  Confronted  with  strong  pressures 
against  the  national  currency,  the  Turkish  authorities  took  a  range  of  policy  actions  that 
have  negatively  influenced  the  functioning  of  markets.  Positive  measures  were  taken  to 
improve the business environment; however, the concerns on the rule of law have further 
deterred investors.  

The  March  2016  EU-Turkey  Statement  continues  to  deliver  results,  with  both  parties 
committed to its implementation. The declining trend in irregular crossings from Turkey 
to the EU since the entry into force of the statement was supported by intensified efforts 
by Turkey. Turkey sustained its outstanding efforts to provide massive humanitarian aid 
and  support  to  more  than  3.6  million  refugees  from  Syria  and  around  370  000  refugees 
from other countries. Turkey and the EU further built on the fruitful cooperation under the 
Facility for Refugees in Turkey. By May 2019, out of the EUR 6 billion mobilised by the 
EU, more than 80 projects had been launched.  

12 

 
 
 
 
Turkey  welcomed  the  UN’s  renewed  efforts  to  consult  stakeholders  as  to  a  possible 
resumption of negotiations regarding Cyprus. It is important to preserve the progress made 
so  far  in  the  UN-led  settlement  talks  on  Cyprus  and  to  pursue  preparations  for  a 
comprehensive,  fair  and  viable  settlement,  including  its  external  aspects.  Turkey’s 
continued commitment and contribution to these negotiations will be of great importance.  

Tensions  in  the  region  around  the  prospect  of  hydrocarbon  exploration  off  the  coast  of 
Cyprus  increased,  due  to  Turkey’s  actions  and  statements  challenging  the  right  of  the 
Republic of Cyprus to exploit hydrocarbon resources in its Exclusive Economic Zone. In 
May  2019,  Turkey  sent  a  drilling  platform  accompanied  by  military  vessels  to  the 
Republic  of  Cyprus’  Exclusive  Economic  Zone,  escalating  tensions  further.  The 
Commission recalls the European Council statement of March 2018 strongly condemning 
Turkey's  continued  illegal  actions  in  the  Eastern  Mediterranean  and  the  Aegean  Sea.  It 
also  recalled  Turkey's  obligation  to  respect  international  law  and  good  neighbourly 
relations  and  called  on  Turkey  to  respect  the  sovereign  rights  of  Cyprus  to  explore  and 
exploit its natural resources in accordance with EU and International Law. In March 2019, 
the EU called on Turkey to refrain from any such illegal acts, to which it would respond 
appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus. 

It  is  urgent  that  Turkey  fulfils  its  obligation  to  ensure  full  and  non-discriminatory 
implementation of the Additional Protocol to the EU-Turkey Association Agreement and 
removes all the obstacles to the free movement of goods, including restrictions on direct 
transport links with Cyprus. There was no progress on normalising bilateral relations with 
the Republic of Cyprus. 

Operational  cooperation  on  migration  with  Greece  continued.  However,  tensions  in  the 
Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean undermined regional stability and security. There 
were  repeated  and  increased  violations  of  the  territorial  waters  and  airspaces  of  Greece 
and  Cyprus  by  Turkey.  Bilateral  relations  with  several  EU  Member  States,  in  particular 
with Austria, Germany and the Netherlands improved.  

7.  Montenegro  opened  two  additional  negotiating  chapters  in  2018,  bringing  the  total 
number  to  32  chapters  opened,  three  of  which  are  provisionally  closed.  The  overall 
priority,  and  the  next  milestone  ahead,  is  the  fulfilment  of  the  rule  of  law  interim 
benchmarks  set  under  chapters  23  and  24.  After  more  than  five  years  of  work  in  this 
regard,  Montenegro  has  come  a  long  way  in  reforming  its  legal  and  institutional 
framework  in  this  area,  with  initial  results  in  most  areas.  Once  the  interim  benchmarks  are 
fulfilled,  the  setting  of  closing  benchmarks  will  provide  an  opportunity  for  the  EU  to 
clearly  set  out  the  rule  of  law  requirements  Montenegro  will  have  to  meet  prior  to  the 
closing of the relevant chapters. However, Montenegro will be able to reach this new stage in 
the accession process once the country addresses the shortcomings in particular in the critical 
areas of media freedom, fight against corruption and trafficking in human beings. Progress on 
the rule of law chapters will continue to determine the pace of accession negotiations overall.   

Montenegro's  political  scene  remains  polarised  and  the  opposition  has  largely  continued 
its parliamentary boycott since the last autumn 2016 elections. Allegations of corruption 
and illegal political party financing in early 2019 triggered peaceful protests by citizens. 
Returning  the  political  debate  to  the  parliament  is  the  responsibility  of  all  parties.  The 
temporary  parliamentary  committee  on  further  reform  of  electoral  and  other  legislation 
still has to deliver through cross-party dialogue. Good progress has been made on policy-
planning,  merit-based  recruitment,  and  rationalisation  of  the  organisation  of  the  state 
administration, while de-politicisation of the public service remains a particular challenge, 
including  at  local  level.  The  country  strengthened  its  legal  framework  on  migration  and 

13 

 
 
 
 
asylum. Montenegro’s economy continued to expand at a robust pace. The level of public 
debt reached a new record, however. Private sector development remained constrained by 
weaknesses in the business environment, and the judiciary, as well as a high prevalence of 
informality,  reflecting  poor  implementation  capacity  in  key  state  institutions  responsible 
to enforce the rule of law and market competition. 

8.  Serbia opened negotiations on four chapters during the reporting period, bringing the total 
number to 16 chapters opened, two of which are provisionally closed. Progress on the rule 
of  law  and  the  normalisation  of  relations  with  Kosovo  is  essential  and  will  continue  to 
determine  the  overall  pace  of  accession  negotiations.  Serbia  needs  to  accelerate 
significantly the pace of rule of law reforms in particular as regards the independence of 
the judiciary, the fight  against  corruption, media freedom,  the domestic  handling of war 
crimes and the fight against organised crime if it wants to maintain the overall balance of 
its EU accession negotiations.  

Serbia’s political  scene is  marked increasingly by  polarisation and a shrinking space for 
diverging  political  opinions.  There  is  an  urgent  need  to  create  more  space  for  genuine 
cross-party  debate,  in  order  to  forge  a  broad  pro-European  consensus,  which  is  vital  for 
the  country’s  progress  on  its  EU  path.  Several  opposition  parties  started  boycotting  the 
parliament  in  March  2019.  The  ruling  coalition’s  parliamentary  practices  led  to 
a deterioration  of  legislative  debate  and  scrutiny,  and  undermined  the  parliament’s 
oversight  of  the  executive.  Weekly  anti-government  protests  started  in  Belgrade  in 
December 2018 further to an attack on the leader of an opposition party. While there was 
no  progress  overall  on  freedom  of  expression,  a  new  media  strategy  was  drafted  in  a 
transparent and inclusive manner. It now needs to be adopted and implemented as a matter 
of urgency given the serious challenges in this field. Some progress was achieved in the 
area  of  service  delivery  to  citizens  but  efforts  are  needed  to  professionalise  and 
depoliticise the public administration. Serbia’s ability to attract and retain qualified staff in 
the  administration  dealing  with  EU  issues  is  crucial.  The  ongoing  constitutional  reform 
process  based  on  the  government-sponsored  draft  of  October  2018  aims  notably  at 
strengthening  the  safeguards  for  judicial  independence  in  line  with  European  standards. 
Economic  reforms  continued 
to  produce  results,  especially  on  macroeconomic 
stabilisation.  Price  pressures  remained  subdued  and  labour  market  performance  has 
improved. However, major structural  reforms of public administration, the tax authority, 
and state-owned enterprises advanced only slowly. The private sector remains hampered 
by  weaknesses  in  the  rule  of  law  and  in  the  enforcement  of  fair  competition.  Serbia 
continued to contribute significantly to the management of mixed migration flows towards 
the EU. 

On  the  EU-facilitated  Dialogue  with  Pristina,  overall,  Serbia  has  remained  engaged 
despite  the  introduction  of  the  customs  tariffs  by  Kosovo.  Serbia  needs  to  make  further 
substantial  efforts  and  contribute,  in  particular  in  its  international  relations,  to  the 
establishment  of  a  conducive  environment  to  the  conclusion  of  a  comprehensive  legally 
binding agreement with  Kosovo. Such an agreement is  urgent  and crucial  so that Serbia 
and Kosovo can advance on their respective European paths. 

9.  North  Macedonia  has  made  great  strides  towards  its  strategic  goal  of  EU  and  NATO 
integration.  The  country  has  shown  its  determination  to  advance  the  EU  reform  agenda 
and  has  delivered  tangible  and  sustained  results,  including  notably  on  the  conditions 
identified  by  the  June  2018  Council  Conclusions  for  the  opening  of  the  accession 
negotiations. The political will to move forward has been demonstrated consistently by the 
government and gradually also by the opposition over the reporting period and there has 

14 

 
 
 
 
been a positive change in the mind-set, despite political challenges.  The sustainability of 
these structural reforms is a long-term process and requires continuous engagement. The 
relevant legislative changes in these areas have been carried out mostly in an inclusive and 
transparent manner, involving the opposition, civil society and international partners. First 
concrete  results  have  been  achieved  in  strengthening  the  independence  of  the  judiciary, 
the  track  record  of  investigations,  prosecutions  and  final  convictions  in  corruption  and 
organised  crime  cases,  including  at  high  level.  These  efforts  need  to  continue  unabated 
and  in  a  transparent  manner  to  ensure  the  judicial  branch  functions  professionally  and 
impartially. The State Commission for Prevention of Corruption has taken important steps 
to  fight  against  corruption  proactively,  involving  high-level  officials  across  the  political 
spectrum.  Safeguards  have  been  put  in  place  in  the  area  of  intelligence  and  security 
services,  in  cooperation  with  NATO  and  strategic  partners,  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of 
the serious issues of the past. Efforts have been made to improve the professionalisation of 
public administration and steps have been taken by the State Commission for Prevention 
of Corruption on alleged politicised appointments. Overall, checks and balances have been 
restored,  consolidating  democracy  and  the  rule  of  law  in  the  country.  The  Presidential 
elections  held  on  21  April  and  5  May  2019  were  conducted  in  a  calm,  peaceful  and 
transparent  manner.  The  historic  agreement  reached  with  Greece  put  an  end  to  a 
longstanding dispute and is  an  example of reconciliation  for the region  and Europe  as a 
whole. The Commission looks forward to the continued implementation of the Friendship 
Treaty  with  Bulgaria.  After  years  of  stagnation,  economic  growth  resumed  at  2.7%  in 
2018  and  unemployment  continued  to  decrease,  but  remains  still  high.  The  government 
adopted  income  taxation  and  pensions  reforms  and  took  further  measures  to  improve 
public  finance  management  and  increase  transparency.  However,  skills  shortages, 
structural  challenges  in  the  business  environment  and  infrastructure  investment  gaps 
hinder competitiveness and integration of domestic companies in global value chains.  

In  light  of  the  significant  progress  achieved  and  the  conditions  set  unanimously  by  the 
Council  in  June  2018  having  been  met,  the  Commission  recommends  that  the  Council 
now  opens  accession  negotiations  with  North  Macedonia.  To  support  the  continued 
reform  momentum,  the  Commission  would  apply  a  reinforced  approach  for  the 
negotiating chapters on judiciary and fundamental rights and justice, freedom and security 
to the country. 

10. Albania  has  continued  to  make  good  progress  and  demonstrated  its  continuous 
determination  to  advance  on  the  EU  agenda.  It  has  delivered  tangible  and  sustained 
results,  notably  on  the  conditions  set  in  the  Council  Conclusions  of  June  2018  for  the 
opening  of  accession  negotiations,  in  a  consistently  polarised  political  atmosphere. 
Opposition parties, most of which relinquished their parliamentary mandates in February 
2019,  should  constructively  re-engage  in  the  democratic  institutions  and  commit  to  a 
broad European consensus. Implementation of justice reform has continued consistently, 
resulting  in  good  progress  overall,  and  laying  the  foundations  for  substantially 
strengthening  the  sector  and  consolidating  independence,  impartiality,  professionalism, 
and accountability. Concrete results have been achieved in the re-evaluation of all judges 
and  prosecutors  (vetting).  Institutional  restructuring  of  the  judiciary  has  also  continued. 
New  bodies  for  the  independent  self-governance  of  the  judiciary  were  established, 
triggering the subsequent formation of specialised judicial and investigative institutions to 
counter organised crime and corruption. Determined efforts continued in the fight against 
corruption  and  organised  crime,  including  in  the  fight  against  drug  trafficking  and 
cultivation,  contributing 
track  record  of  proactive 
investigations,  prosecutions  and  convictions.  Consistently  for  the  past  years,  Albania 

towards  establishing  a  solid 

15 

 
 
 
 
showed  a  strong  commitment  to  counter  the  production  and  trafficking  of  cannabis. 
International police cooperation, especially with EU Member States, has also intensified, 
leading  to  a  number  of  successful  large-scale  law  enforcement  operations  and  the  arrest 
and prosecution of organised criminal network leaders. The establishment of a solid track 
record  of  proactive  investigations,  prosecutions  and  convictions  in  the  fight  against 
corruption  at  all  levels,  and  in  the  fight  against  organised  crime,  remains  a  long-term 
challenge  that  continues  to  require  further  reinforced  and  consistent  efforts  by  Albania, 
including operational cooperation with EU Member States. 

Furthermore, reform of the public administration continued, with the overall objectives of 
enhancing  professionalism  and  transparency  in  recruitment  procedures  for  the  civil 
service,  as  well  as  strengthening  policy-making  by  consolidating  sector-coordination 
structures and establishing the regulatory framework for impact assessment. Measures to 
reinforce  the  effective  protection  of  human  rights,  including  of  persons  belonging  to 
minorities and of Roma, and anti-discrimination policies, were further pursued. Economic 
growth  increased  further  from  3.8%  in  2017  to  4.2%  in  2018  and  unemployment  and 
budget  deficit  decreased  although  remaining  high.  Lack  of  productive  know-how,  low 
education levels  and technology transfers hinder its competitiveness  and integration into 
international value chains. 

In  light  of  the  significant  progress  achieved  and  the  conditions  set  unanimously  by  the 
Council  in  June  2018  having  been  met,  the  Commission  recommends  that  the  Council 
now  opens  accession  negotiations  with  Albania.  To  support  the  continued  reform 
momentum,  the  Commission  would  apply  a  reinforced  approach  for  the  negotiating 
chapters  on  judiciary  and  fundamental  rights  and  justice,  freedom  and  security  to  the 
country.  Albania  needs  to  continue  building  solid  track  records  in  the  fight  against 
corruption  at  all  levels  and  in  the  fight  against  organised  crime.  A  stronger  national 
consensus  on  the  overriding  priority  of  EU  integration,  overcoming  the  current 
polarisation  and  demonstrating  political  will  across  party  divides,  is  also  necessary  to 
sustain and consolidate the progress made by the country.  

11. In  Kosovo,  the  overall  political  situation  proved  challenging.  Progress  made  on  certain 
key EU-related reforms was over-shadowed by the decision of the government to impose 
a  100%  tariff  on  imports  from  Serbia  and  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  in  violation  of  the 
CEFTA  and  against  the  spirit  of  the  Stabilisation  and  Association  Agreement  (SAA). 
Kosovo should revoke this measure as a matter of urgency and focus on bringing forward 
the  implementation  of  the  SAA,  where  strong  cross-party  consensus  is  needed.  Kosovo 
should effectively implement recently adopted legislation in the areas of rule of law and 
public administration and complete the implementation of the European Reform Agenda. 
Serious  efforts  are  needed  to  prevent  political  interference  in  the  recruitment  of  senior 
civil  servants  and  more  concerted  efforts  are  needed  to  fight  corruption  and  organised 
crime. Appointments of people convicted for war crimes or corruption/organised crime to 
official positions are contrary to European values. High levels of corruption and organised 
crime need to be resolutely addressed, including in the north of Kosovo. There has been 
some progress regarding the economy, with sustained growth and some improvements in 
the business environment. However, measures should be adopted to increase activity and 
employment  levels,  to  ensure  that  the  budget  complies  with  existing  fiscal  rules,  and  to 
tackle the informal economy. 

In July 2018, the Commission  confirmed that Kosovo has fulfilled all visa liberalisation 
benchmarks endorsed by the Council. In March 2019, the European Parliament supported 
the Commission’s proposal for visa liberalisation in its first reading. The proposal for visa 

16 

 
 
 
 
liberalisation  is  pending  in  the  Council  and  should  be  treated  as  a  matter  of  urgency. 
Kosovo should continue its efforts to respect all criteria, notably in the areas of rule of law 
and migration. 

Overall,  Kosovo  has  remained  engaged  in  the  EU-facilitated  Dialogue  with  Belgrade. 
Kosovo needs to make further substantial efforts and contribute to the establishment of a 
conducive  environment  to the conclusion of  a comprehensive legally  binding  agreement 
with  Serbia.  Such  an  agreement  is  urgent  and  crucial  so  that  Kosovo  and  Serbia  can 
advance on their respective European paths. The Kosovo government needs to revoke the 
tariffs on imports from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.  

17 

 
 
 
 
 
IV. ANNEXES  

1.  Conclusion  and  recommendation  of  the  Commission’s  Opinion  on  Bosnia  and 

Herzegovina’s application for membership of the European Union 

2.  Summaries of the findings of the reports  

3.  Implementation of the Western Balkans Strategy and the Sofia Priority Agenda: EU 

enhanced engagement 

4.  Statistical annex 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX  1  -  Conclusion  and  recommendation  of  the  Commission’s  Opinion  on  Bosnia 
and Herzegovina’s application for membership of the European Union 

Bosnia and Herzegovina does not  yet sufficiently fulfil the criteria related to the stability of 
institutions  guaranteeing  democracy,  the  rule  of  law,  human  rights  and  respect  for  and 
protection of minorities, set by the Copenhagen European Council in 1993. In this respect, the 
country  needs  to  dedicate  considerable  efforts  to  sufficiently  fulfil  such  criteria  by 
strengthening its institutions in order to  guarantee democracy, the rule of law, human rights 
and respect for and protection of minorities. Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to bring in line its 
constitutional  framework  with  European  standards  and  ensure  the  functionality  of  its 
institutions  to  be  able  to  take  over  EU  obligations.  While  a  decentralised  state  structure  is 
compatible with EU membership, Bosnia and Herzegovina will need to reform its institutions 
to be able to effectively participate in EU decision-making and to fully implement and enforce 
the acquis.  

Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to improve its electoral framework and the functioning of the 
judiciary. It should also strengthen the prevention and fight against corruption and organised 
crime, including money-laundering and terrorism, as well as  ensure  effective functioning of 
border  management,  migration  and  asylum  systems.  It  needs  to  step  up  the  protection  of 
fundamental  rights  of  all  citizens,  including  by  ensuring  an  enabling  environment  for  civil 
society and reconciliation and the protection and inclusion of vulnerable groups. It also needs 
to complete essential steps in public administration reform. 

As  regards  the  economic  criteria,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  has  achieved  a  certain  degree  of 
macroeconomic  stability.  However,  to  move  towards  becoming  a  functioning  market 
economy,  which  is  a  criteria  set  by  the  1993  Copenhagen  European  Council,  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina needs to pay special attention to speeding up its decision-making procedures and 
improving the business environment as well as the efficiency and transparency of the public 
sector, in particular  of public enterprises. The country should address the impediments to the 
proper  functioning  of  market  mechanisms,  such  as  a  weak  rule  of  law,  substantial  red  tape, 
corruption,  lengthy  and  overly  complex  administrative  procedures  and  a  high  fragmentation 
of  the  country’s  internal  market  .  In  order  to  enable  it  to  cope  over  the  medium  term  with 
competitive pressure and market  forces within the Union, Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to 
pay  special  attention  to  the  low  quality  of  education  and  its insufficient  orientation  towards 
labour market needs, the quality of the physical capital, such as the insufficient development 
of  transport  and  energy  infrastructure  and  the  slow  adjustment  of  the  country’s  economic 
structure.  

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s track record in implementing its obligations under the Stabilisation 
and Association Agreement needs to be improved, notably regarding the establishment of the 
parliamentary dimension of the Agreement and by adopting a national plan for the adoption of 
the EU acquis.  

Bosnia and Herzegovina is overall at an early stage regarding its level of preparedness to take 
on the obligations of EU membership and needs to significantly step up the process to align 
with the EU acquis and implement and enforce related legislation. Particular attention should 
be paid to the areas of free movement of goods, right of establishment and freedom to provide 
services,  information  society  and  media,  agriculture  and  rural  development,  fisheries, 
transport  policy,  energy,  economic  and  monetary  policy,  statistics,  social  policy  and 
employment,  enterprise  and  industrial  policy,  regional  policy  and  coordination  of  structural 
instruments, education and culture, consumer and health protection, and financial control.  

19 

 
 
 
 
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s accession would have a limited overall impact on European Union 
policies  and  would  not  affect  the  Union's  capacity  to  maintain  and  deepen  its  own 
development.  At  the  same  time,  identified  functionality  issues  within  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina,  notably  related  to  the  internal  decision-making  process  as  well  as  uncertainty 
and  overlaps  between  the  country’s  various  levels  of  government  over  a  number  of 
competences could negatively affect the decision-making process at EU level, particularly for 
matters  requiring  unanimity  amongst  EU  Member  States.  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  should 
therefore  engage  in  a  process  to  address  functionality  issues  in  order  to  comply  with  EU 
membership requirements and take on its related obligations.  

The Commission considers that negotiations for accession to the European Union should be 
opened with Bosnia and Herzegovina once the country has achieved the necessary degree of 
compliance  with  the  membership  criteria  and  in  particular  the  Copenhagen  political  criteria 
requiring  the  stability  of  institutions  guaranteeing  notably  democracy  and  the  rule  of  law. 
Bosnia and  Herzegovina will need to  fundamentally improve its legislative and institutional 
framework to ensure it meets the following key priorities: 

Democracy / Functionality 

1.  Ensure that elections are conducted in line with European standards by implementing 
OSCE/ODIHR  and  relevant  Venice  Commission  recommendations,  ensuring 
transparency of political party financing, and holding municipal elections in Mostar. 
2.  Ensure a track record in the functioning at all levels of the coordination mechanism on 
EU  matters  including  by  developing  and  adopting  a  national  programme  for  the 
adoption of the EU acquis. 

3.  Ensure  the  proper  functioning  of  the  Stabilisation  and  Association  Parliamentary 

Committee. 

4.  Fundamentally improve the institutional framework, including at constitutional level, 

in order to: 
a)  Ensure  legal  certainty  on  the  distribution  of  competences  across  levels  of 

government; 

b)  Introduce  a  substitution  clause  to  allow  the  State  upon  accession  to  temporarily 
exercise  competences  of  other  levels  of  government  to  prevent  and  remedy 
breaches of EU law; 

c)  Guarantee  the  independence  of  the  judiciary,  including  its  self-governance 

institution (HJPC); 

d)  Reform  the  Constitutional  Court,  including  addressing  the  issue  of  international 

judges, and ensure enforcement of its decisions; 

e)  Guarantee legal certainty, including by establishing a judicial body entrusted with 
ensuring  the  consistent  interpretation  of  the  law  throughout  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina; 

f)  Ensure  equality  and  non-discrimination  of  citizens,  notably  by  addressing  the 

Sejdić-Finci ECtHR case law; 

g)  Ensure  that  all  administrative  bodies  entrusted  with  implementing  the  acquis  are 
based  only  upon  professionalism  and  eliminate  veto  rights  in  their  decision-
making, in compliance with the acquis.  

5.  Take concrete steps to promote an environment conducive to reconciliation in order to 

overcome the legacies of the war. 

Rule of Law 

6.  Improve  the  functioning  of  the  judiciary  by  adopting  new  legislation  on  the  High 
Judicial  and  Prosecutorial  Council  and  of  the  Courts  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  in 

20 

 
 
 
 
 
line with European standards. 

7.  Strengthen the prevention and fight against corruption and organised crime, including 

money laundering and terrorism, notably by: 
a)  adopting and implementing legislation on conflict of interest and whistle-blowers’ 

protection; 

b)  ensuring the effective functioning and coordination of anti-corruption bodies;  
c)  align the legislation and strengthen capacities on public procurement;  
d)  ensuring  effective  cooperation  among 

law  enforcement  bodies  and  with 

prosecutors’ offices; 
e)  demonstrating  progress 

track  record  of  proactive 
investigations,  confirmed  indictments,  prosecutions  and  final  convictions  against 
organised crime and corruption, including at high-level; 

towards  establishing  a 

f)  de-politicising  and  restructuring  public  enterprises  and  ensuring  transparency  of 

privatisation processes. 

8.  Ensuring  effective  coordination,  at  all  levels,  of  border  management  and  migration 

management capacity, as well as ensuring the functioning of the asylum system. 

Fundamental Rights 

9.  Strengthen  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  all  citizens,  notably  by  ensuring  the 

implementation of the legislation on non-discrimination and on gender equality. 

10. Ensure  the  right  to  life  and  prohibition  of  torture,  notably  by  (a)  abolishing  the 
reference to  death  penalty  in  the Constitution of the  Republika Srpska  entity  and (b) 
designate a national preventive mechanism against torture and ill-treatment. 

11. Ensure  an  enabling  environment  for  civil  society,  notably  by  upholding  European 

standards on freedom of association and freedom of assembly. 

12. Guarantee  freedom  of  expression  and  of  the  media  and  the  protection  of  journalists, 
notably  by  (a)  ensuring  the  appropriate  judicial  follow-up  to  cases  of  threats  and 
violence  against  journalists  and  media  workers,  and  (b)  ensuring  the  financial 
sustainability of the public broadcasting system. 

13. Improve the protection and inclusion of vulnerable groups, in particular persons with 
disabilities,  children,  LGBTI  persons,  members  of  the  Roma  community,  detainees, 
migrants  and  asylum  seekers,  as  well  as  displaced  persons  and  refugees  in  line  with 
the objective of closure of Annex VII of the Dayton Peace Agreement. 

Public Administration Reform 

14. Complete  essential  steps  in  public  administration  reform  towards  improving  the 
overall  functioning  of  the  public  administration  by  ensuring  a  professional  and  de-
politicised civil service and a coordinated countrywide approach to policy making.  

The Commission  encourages  Bosnia  and Herzegovina, at  all levels  of  government,  to  agree 
and implement socio-economic reform measures, in line with the ERP policy guidance.  

The Commission also  encourages  Bosnia and Herzegovina to  continue engaging in  regional 
cooperation  and  strengthening  bilateral  relations  with  neighbouring  countries,  including  by 
concluding  border  agreements  and  striving  towards  lasting  reconciliation  in  the  Western 
Balkans.  

The Commission recommends to the Council to discuss this Opinion and the follow-up to the 
key priorities above after the formation of governments in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

The  Commission  will  monitor  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina’s  progress  within  the  institutional 

21 

 
 
 
 
 
 
framework  of  the  Stabilisation  and  Association  Agreement  and  will  continue  financially 
supporting the country under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance.  

The  Commission  will  present  a  report  on  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  as  part  of  the  2020 
Enlargement package that will review the implementation of the key priorities above in view 
of the country’s next steps on its EU path. 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX 2 - Summaries of the findings of the reports 

Turkey 

The  state  of  emergency  introduced  on  15  July  2016  in  the  aftermath  of  the  attempted  coup 
ended on 18 July 2018, when its last extension expired, but was immediately followed by the 
adoption  by  the  Turkish  parliament  of  a  law  that  retained  many  elements  of  the  emergency 
rule  for  further  three  years.  The  law  limits  certain  fundamental  freedoms,  allowing  in 
particular to dismiss public servants (including judges) and to prolong detentions, to restrict 
freedom of movement and public assembly, and extending powers for Government-appointed 
provincial governors.  

The  EU,  which  immediately  and  strongly  condemned  the  attempted  coup,  reiterated  its  full 
support for the country’s democratic institutions and recognised Turkey’s legitimate need to 
take swift  and proportionate action in  the  face of such  a serious  threat.  However, the broad 
scale  and  collective  nature  of  measures  taken  since  the  attempted  coup  under  the  state  of 
emergency,  such  as  widespread  dismissals,  arrests  and  detentions,  continued  to  raise  very 
serious concerns. 

During the state of emergency, 36 decrees were issued constraining certain civil and political 
rights,  as  well  as  defence  rights,  expanding  police  powers  and  those  of  prosecutors  for 
investigations and prosecutions as well as foreseeing the dismissal of more than 152 000 civil 
servants, including academics, teachers and public officials.  

The Constitutional Court has ruled that it does not have a mandate to  review the legality of 
decrees using legal powers issued during the state of emergency. Parliament has reviewed 32 
of them. In May 2017, the Turkish authorities established an Inquiry Commission on the State 
of Emergency Measures tasked to review all complaints individually.  

As of May 2019, 126 600 applications had been made. Of these, the Inquiry Commission has 
reviewed 70 406 and only 5 250 have led to a reinstatement, while 65 156 complaints have 
been rejected. There are 55 714 applications pending. The rate of processing of applications 
raises  concerns  at  whether  each  case  is  being  examined  individually.  Since  there  are  no 
hearings,  there  is  a  general  lack  of  procedural  guarantees  for  applicants  and  decisions  are 
taken on the basis of the written files related to the original dismissal, all of which calls into 
question the extent to which the Inquiry Commission is an effective judicial remedy.  

With  the  ending  of  the  state  of  emergency,  Turkey  has  withdrawn  its  derogations  from  the 
European  Convention  on  Human  Rights  and  from  the  International  Covenant  on  Civil  and 
Political  Rights  (ICCPR).  However,  the  full  monitoring  procedure  that  the  Parliamentary 
Assembly of the Council of Europe reopened in April 2017 remains in place.  

Beyond the Inquiry Commission on the State of Emergency Measures, the capacity of Turkey 
to  ensure an  effective domestic legal  remedy in the sense of the European Court of Human 
Rights  has  been  further  undermined.  Several  court  rulings  favourable  to  prominent 
defendants,  including  human  rights  defenders,  were  swiftly  reversed  by  another  or  even  by 
the same court, in some instances following comments from the executive.  

Many human rights  defenders, civil  society activists, media, academics, politicians, doctors, 
lawyers, judges and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, are still 
detained – sometimes without indictment, and are facing smear campaigns by the media and 
senior  politicians.  The  space  for  civil  society  organisations  working  on  fundamental  rights 
and  freedoms  has  further  shrunk,  notably  exemplified  by  the  introduction  of  further 
administrative  obstacles.  The  rights-based  organisations  closed  down  under  the  state  of 
emergency have not been offered any legal remedy in respect to confiscations. Since October 

23 

 
 
 
 
2018,  following  the  amendment  of  the  Parliament's  rules  of  procedure,  civil  society 
organisations  are  excluded  from  the  legislative  consultation  process  at  parliamentary 
committees. Inclusive mechanisms for consulting across society as widely as possible are not 
present.    

Key  recommendations  of  the  Council  of  Europe  and  its  bodies  are  yet  to  be  addressed  by 
Turkey. Allegations of wrongdoing need to be established by transparent procedures and on 
an individual basis. Individual criminal liability can only be established with full respect for 
the  separation  of  powers,  the  full  independence  of  the  judiciary  and  the  right  of  every 
individual to a fair trial.  

The  new  presidential  system  has  centralised  power  in  the  hands  of  the  executive  and 
significantly  curtailed  Parliament's  legislative  and  oversight  functions.  Since  July  2018, 
Parliament has adopted 17 pieces of legislation, including controversial changes to its rules of 
procedure.  Ministers  no  longer  appear  before  Members  of  Parliament,  who  can  ask  only 
written questions.  

Growing political polarisation, especially in the run-up to the March 2019 municipal elections 
continues  to  prevent  constructive  parliamentary  dialogue.  The  marginalisation  of  the 
opposition,  notably  the  People's  Democratic  Party  (HDP)  continues,  and  many  HDP 
lawmakers  are  detained.  The  long-standing  shortcomings  of  the  system  of  parliamentary 
immunity have not been addressed.  

The  June  2018  presidential  and  parliamentary  elections  and  the  March  2019  municipal 
elections  were  marked  by  strong  turnouts.  Voters  had  a  genuine  choice  despite  the  lack  of 
conditions  for contestants  to  compete on an  equal  basis. The ruling party enjoyed  a notable 
advantage,  also  reflected  in  excessive  coverage  by  government-affiliated  public  and  private 
media.  After  the  municipal  elections,  the  Supreme  Election  Council  declared  four  elected 
mayors  and  members  of  municipal  councils  ineligible  to  assume  office  in  the  south-east  of 
Turkey, even though their candidacies had been validated before the elections. It also annulled 
the  metropolitan  mayoral  elections  in  Istanbul  and  scheduled  a  re-run  for  23  June.  The 
decisions by the Supreme Election Council to re-run elections in Istanbul as well as to grant 
the mayorship of individual municipalities in the south-east to second-placed candidates are a 
source  of  serious  concern  regarding  the  respect  of  the  legality  and  integrity  of  the  electoral 
process  and the institution’s independence  from  political  pressure. They  go  against the core 
aim of a democratic electoral process – that is to ensure that the will of the people prevails.  
The  annulment  of  the  metropolitan  mayoral  election  in  Istanbul  and  its  re-scheduling  were 
strongly contested by opposition parties. 

The  full  entry  into  force  of  the  presidential  system  has  remodelled  the  executive  and  state 
administration.  The  presidential  system,  including  the  abolition  of  the  position  of  Prime 
Minister  and  other  functions  such  as  Under  Secretaries  in  Ministries,  has  led  to  greater 
politicisation of the public administration. The President now has the power to nominate the 
heads of the vast majority of public regulatory authorities.  

Before  the  March  2019  municipal  elections,  continuing  arrests  and  dismissals  of  local 
politicians and appointment of trustees as well as the arbitrary nature of these appointments 
deprived voters of political representation at local level, and seriously risked damaging local 
democracy.  

The  government  has  overhauled  the  legal  framework  governing  the  civil-military  relations 
and  increased  the  powers  of  the  executive  over  the  military  significantly,  thereby 
strengthening  civilian  oversight.  As  part  of  the  constitutional  amendments,  high  military 
courts were  effectively  abolished, but  the military  and intelligence services continue to  lack 

24 

 
 
 
 
sufficient accountability to Parliament and security personnel continue to have wide-ranging 
legal  protection.  The  parliamentary  law  enforcement  oversight  commission  remained 
ineffective.  The  legal  framework  for  overseeing  military  expenditure  has  not  yet  been 
improved.  

The situation in the south-east has continued to be challenging, despite an improved security 
environment.  The  Government  continued  security  operations  against  a  background  of  the 
recurrent violent acts by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which remains on the EU list 
of  persons,  groups  and  entities  involved  in  acts  of  terrorism.  While  the  Government  has 
a legitimate  right  to  fight  terrorism,  it  is  also  responsible  for  ensuring  this  is  done  in 
accordance  with  the  rule  of  law,  human  rights  and  fundamental  freedoms.  Anti-terror 
measures need to be proportionate. Despite some reconstruction, only few internally displaced 
persons have received compensation. There were no visible developments on the resumption 
of a credible political process to achieve a peaceful and sustainable solution.  

Turkey  is  moderately  prepared  in  the  area  of  public  administration  reform,  and  there  has 
been  serious  backsliding  in  the  area  of  public  service  and  human  resources  management, 
which has also affected policy developments and accountability. Changes to the civil service 
system  have  further  increased  the  politicisation  of  the  administration.  Merit-based, 
competitive  appointments  for  senior  managerial  positions  remain  the  exception.  Serious 
procedural shortcomings call into question the extent to which the Inquiry Commission on the 
State  of  Emergency  Measures  can  be  considered  an  effective  remedy  for  dismissed  public 
officials.  

Turkey’s  judicial  system  is  at  an early stage of preparation. There has  been further serious 
backsliding  and  the  recommendations  in  the  previous  reports  were  not  accepted  or 
implemented. Political pressure on judges and prosecutors and transfers of a large number of 
judges and prosecutors against their will continued. This continues to have a negative impact 
on  the  independence  and  overall  quality  and  efficiency  of  the  judiciary.  The  large  scale 
recruitments of new judges and prosecutors under the current system are concerning because 
no  measures  were  taken  to  address  the  lack  of  objective,  merit-based,  uniform  and 
pre-established criteria for their recruitment and promotion. The Justice Academy of Turkey 
was re-established by Presidential Decree, after it had previously been closed under the state 
of  emergency.  The  chilling  effect  of  the  dismissal  and  forced  transfers  of  judges  and 
prosecutors is  still observed, and risk engendering widespread self-censorship.  No measures 
were  taken  to  restore  legal  guarantees  to  ensure  the  independence  of  the  judiciary  from  the 
executive or to strengthen the independence of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (CJP). 
A judicial reform strategy for 2019-2023 was announced in August 2018 but has not yet been 
adopted. Turkey consulted the Council of Europe and the Commission on the draft strategy. 

The country is at an early stage in the fight against corruption. There was backsliding since 
dismantled preventive bodies have not been replaced by an independent body, in line with the 
United Nations Convention against Corruption to which Turkey is a party. Both the legal and 
institutional  frameworks  continued  to  allow  undue  influence  from  the  executive  in  the 
investigation  and  prosecution  of  high-profile  corruption  cases.  The  legislative  amendments 
envisaged  in  previous  anti-corruption  strategies  have  not  been  implemented.  Public 
procurement  legislation  remained  incompatible  with  the  EU  acquis  and  the  scope  of  the 
derogations  to  the  public  procurement  law  was  increased  further.  The  absence  of  a  robust 
anti-corruption  strategy  and  action  plan  is  a  sign  of  lack  of  political  will  to  fight  decisively 
against  corruption.  No  permanent,  functionally  independent  anti-corruption  body  exists  and 
there is no specialised prosecution service to lead anti-corruption investigations and only few 
specialised courts. Overall, corruption is widespread and remains an issue of concern. 

25 

 
 
 
 
Turkey  has  some  level  of  preparation  in  the  fight  against  organised  crime  but  progress  is 
limited  overall.  The  country  needs  to  improve  its  legislation  on  cybercrime,  assets 
confiscation and witness protections. Turkish data protection is still not in line with European 
standards and will have to be revised in order to ensure the implementation of the operational 
agreement  with  Europol  currently  being  negotiated.  Turkey  should  develop  and  implement 
a more comprehensive and coherent legal framework for the confiscation of the proceeds of 
crime and improve its capacity to manage frozen assets.  

Turkey  made  good  progress  in  the  area  of  migration  and  asylum  policy  and  remained 
committed  to  the  effective  implementation  of  the  March  2016  EU-Turkey  statement.  The 
declining trend in irregular crossings from Turkey to the Aegean islands since the entry into 
force  of  the  Statement  was  supported  by  intensified  efforts  by  Turkey's  law  enforcement 
agencies.  Turkey  sustained  its  outstanding  efforts  to  provide  massive  and  unprecedented 
humanitarian  aid  and  support  to  more  than  3.6  million  registered  refugees  from  Syria  and 
around  370  000  registered  refugees  from  other  countries,  thus  hosting  the  largest  refugee 
community in the world. Turkey has set up seven working groups to carry out technical work 
on the outstanding benchmarks of the visa liberalisation dialogue. However, no progress has 
been made in the harmonisation of the Turkish visa policy with the EU common visa policy. 

Serious  backsliding  remains  in  terms  of  human  and  fundamental  rights.  While  the  legal 
framework  includes  general  guarantees  of  respect  for  human  and  fundamental  rights,  it  still 
needs to be brought in line with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the 
case  law  of  the  European  Court  of  Human  Rights  (ECtHR).  There  has  been  serious 
backsliding  in  the  areas  of  freedom  of  expression,  assembly,  and  association  and  in 
procedural  and  property  rights.  No  changes  were  made  to  the  legislation  introduced 
immediately  after  the  lifting  of  the  state  of  emergency,  which  removed  crucial  safeguards 
protecting  civil  society  activists,  human  rights  defenders,  journalists,  academics  and  others 
from  abuses.  The  enforcement  of  rights  is  hindered  by  the  fragmentation  and  limited 
independence  of  public  institutions  responsible  for  protecting  those  rights  and  freedoms  as 
well  as  by  the  lack  of  an  independent  judiciary.  Trade  union  rights  continue  to  be  under 
severe  pressure.  No  steps  were  taken  to  investigate,  prosecute  or  punish  those  involved  in 
profound  human  rights  violations  during  the  state  of  emergency.  There  was  a  climate  of 
intimidation  across  society  as  the  state  of  emergency  was  used  to  narrow  the  space  for 
dissenting or alternative  views. As of December  2018, the total  number of people in  prison 
without indictment or pending trial is 57 000, more than 20% of the prison population. There 
is overcrowding and conditions are deteriorating. Severe restrictions on freedom of expression 
continued and the trend for prosecution of writers, social media users and other members of 
the public, even children, for insulting the President has dramatically increased. The lack of 
transparency as to media ownership continues to cast doubt on the independence of editorial 
comment.  Roma8  continue  to  live  in  very  poor  housing,  often  lacking  basic  public  services 
and relying on social  benefits.  The urban renewal  projects  continue to  affect  primarily their 
settlements,  forcing  the  displacement  of  entire  families.  The  rights  of  the  most  vulnerable 
groups and of persons belonging to minorities need better protection. Gender-based violence, 
discrimination,  hate speech against minorities, hate crime and violations  of human  rights  of 
LGBTI persons are still a matter of serious concern.  

Turkey  welcomed  the  UN’s  renewed  efforts  to  consult  stakeholders  as  to  a  possible 
resumption of negotiations regarding Cyprus.  Tensions in  the region  around the prospect  of 
hydrocarbon  exploration  off  the  coast  of  Cyprus  increased,  due  to  Turkey’s  actions  and 

8  In  line  with  the  terminology  of  European  institutions,  the  umbrella  term  ‘Roma’  is  used  here  to  refer  to 
a number of different groups, without denying the specificities of these groups. 

26 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
statements challenging the right of the Republic of  Cyprus to exploit hydrocarbon resources 
in  the  Cyprus  Exclusive  Economic  Zone.  In  May  2019,  Turkey  sent  a  drilling  platform 
accompanied  by  military  vessels  to  the  Republic  of  Cyprus’  Exclusive  Economic  Zone, 
escalating tensions further. The Commission recalls the European Council statement of March 
2018  strongly  condemning  Turkey's  continued  illegal  actions  in  the  Eastern  Mediterranean 
and the Aegean Sea. It also recalled Turkey's obligation to respect international law and good 
neighbourly  relations  and  called  on  Turkey  to  respect  the  sovereign  rights  of  Cyprus  to 
explore  and  exploit  its  natural  resources  in  accordance  with  EU  and  International  Law.  In 
March 2019, the EU called on Turkey to refrain from any such illegal acts, to which it would 
respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus. 

The  EU  has  repeatedly  stressed  the  sovereign  rights  of  EU  Member  States,  which  include 
entering  into  bilateral  agreements  and  exploring  and  exploiting  their  natural  resources  in 
accordance  with  the  EU  acquis  and  international  law,  including  the  UN  Convention  on  the 
Law  of  the  Sea.  Turkey  has  still  not  fulfilled  its  obligation  to  ensure  full  and 
non-discriminatory implementation of the Additional Protocol to the EU-Turkey Association 
Agreement  and has not  removed all the obstacles to  the free movement  of goods, including 
restrictions  on  direct  transport  links  with  Cyprus.  There  was  no  progress  on  normalising 
bilateral relations with the Republic of Cyprus. 

Operational  cooperation  with  Greece  on  migration  further  continued.  However,  tensions  in 
the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean were not conducive to good neighbourly relations 
and undermined regional stability and security. Bilateral relations with several individual EU 
Member  States  in  particular  with  Austria,  Germany  and  the  Netherlands  improved.  The 
Netherlands and Turkey normalised relations. There were repeated and increased violations of 
the  territorial  waters  and  airspaces  of  Greece  and  Cyprus  by  Turkey.  Another  source  of 
serious concern was the six-month detention of two Greek soldiers who had been patrolling 
the  land  border  but  relations  improved  significantly  on  their  release  in  August  2018  and 
following the Greek Prime Minister’s visit to Turkey in February.  

In this context, the EU has expressed once again serious concern and urged Turkey to avoid 
any  kind  of  threat  or  action  directed  against  a  Member  State,  or  any  source  of  friction  or 
actions that would damage good neighbourly relations and the peaceful settlement of disputes.  

Regarding  the  economic  criteria,  serious  backsliding  continued  in  the  Turkish  economy, 
leading  to  deeper  concerns  over  the  functioning  of  the  country’s  market  economy.  In  2018, 
a sharp deterioration in the external financing conditions exposed vulnerabilities built up over 
years. In response, the Turkish authorities took a range of policy actions that have negatively 
influenced the functioning of markets, more importantly, by interfering with price formation 
and  introducing  constraints  on  the  free  use  of  foreign  exchange.  Concerns  regarding  the 
independence  of  key  economic  institutions  have  deepened.  The  current  account  deficit 
reached  a  peak  in  the  first  half  of  2018  before  a  strong  correction  set  in  as  a  result  of  the 
weakening  economy  and  the  fall  in  the  lira.  The  inflation  rate  jumped  far  above  the  upper 
band of the target  range following the currency  crisis  and  years of  high  credit  growth,  high 
money  growth  and  low  real  interest  rates.  There  was  no  progress  in  improving  the 
transparency of state aid. 

Turkey has made some progress and has a good level of preparation to cope with competitive 
pressures and market forces within the EU. Turkey is well-integrated with the EU market in 
terms of both trade and investment. Improvements were made in the energy sector, as well as 
some  advances  in  spending  on  research  and  development,  education  and  physical  capital. 
However, there are persistent problems with the quality of education and gender equality.  

27 

 
 
 
 
Regarding  its  ability  to  assume  the  obligations  of  membership,  Turkey  has  continued  to 
align with the acquis, albeit at a limited pace. There have been more instances of backsliding 
regarding  a  number  of  key  aspects  in  the  areas  of  free  movement  of  capital,  public 
procurement,  competition,  information  society, economic and monetary  policy, and external 
relations. Turkey is well advanced in the areas of company law, trans-European networks and 
science  and  research  and  it  has  achieved  a  good  level  of  preparation  in  the  areas  of  free 
movement  of  goods,  intellectual  property  law,  financial  services,  enterprise  and  industrial 
policy,  consumer  and  health  protection,  customs  union  and  financial  control.  Turkey  is 
moderately prepared on public procurement as important gaps remain in its alignment. Turkey 
is  also  moderately  prepared  in  the  area  of  free  movement  of  capital,  statistics,  energy, 
taxation,  economic  and  monetary  union,  regional  policy,  education  and  culture,  CFSP  and 
transport  policy  where  further  significant  efforts  are  needed  across  the  board.  Turkey  has 
reached  some  level  of  preparation  on  competition,  agriculture,  food  safety,  veterinary  and 
phytosanitary policy, social policy and employment, environment and climate change where 
more ambitious and better coordinated policies still need to be established and implemented. 
In all areas, more attention needs to be given to enforce legislation whilst many areas require 
further  significant  progress  to  achieve  legislative  alignment  with  the  EU  acquis,  strengthen 
the independence of regulatory authorities and build the administrative capacities. 

Montenegro 

Concerning the political criteria the reporting period continued to be marked by the low level 
of  trust  in  the  electoral  framework,  which  needs  to  be  revised  in  a  comprehensive  and 
inclusive  manner.  A  temporary  parliamentary  committee  on  reform  of  electoral  and  other 
legislation was established in autumn 2018 inter alia for this purpose. It however still needs to 
deliver on its ambitious mandate. Presidential and local elections in 11 municipalities and one 
urban municipality took place during the reporting period. Local elections continued to take 
place  on  a  rolling  basis,  making  their  international  observation  difficult,  and  leaving  ample 
opportunities for claims of irregularities that cannot be independently evaluated.       

The  political  scene  remains  fragmented,  polarised  and  marked  by  lack  of  genuine  political 
dialogue. Limited progress was made in re-establishing the political dialogue in Parliament in 
the course of 2018 with the temporary and partial return of majority of the opposition parties 
to  Parliament  and  the  establishment  of  the  temporary  parliamentary  committee.  However, 
following  the  detention  of  one  opposition  Member  of  Parliament  in  late  2018,  and  the 
allegations  of  corruption  and  illegal  political  party  financing  (the  ‘envelope  affair’)  in  early 
2019,  the  opposition  largely  returned  to  boycotting  Parliament.  These  allegations  also 
triggered  mobilisation  of  citizens  though  regular  street  protests,  attempts  at  extra-
parliamentary political dialogue and the opposition’s demands for the formation of a technical 
government.  

Returning  the  political  debate  to  the  Parliament  is  the  responsibility  of  all  political  actors. 
Active  and  constructive  participation  by  all  parties  is  required  to  enhance  parliamentary 
accountability,  oversight  of  the  executive,  democratic  scrutiny  and  better  quality  of  the 
legislation.  There  were  no  new  developments  in  the  political  and  judicial  follow-up  of  the 
alleged  misuse  of  public  funds  for  party  political  purposes  in  2012.  As  regards  the  recent 
allegations, the prosecution opened investigations with regard to some of the allegations, and 
the  Anti-Corruption  Agency  fined  the  political  party  exposed  for  receiving  illegal  cash 
donation.  These  allegations  require  a  credible,  independent  and  effective  institutional 
response. 

28 

 
 
 
 
As regards governance, there is a need to strengthen transparency, stakeholders' participation, 
and  the  government's  capacity  to  implement  reforms.  A  new  legal  framework  and 
methodology  on  strategic  planning  should  lead  to  better  quality  strategic  planning,  better 
monitoring  and  execution.  The  legal,  institutional  and  financial  environment,  under  which 
civil society organisations operate, improved overall. However, the genuine inclusion of civil 
society organisations in the policy-making process remains to be ensured in practice. 

Montenegro  is  moderately  prepared  with  the  reform  of  its  public  administration.  Some 
progress was made overall. There was good progress in particular on the medium-term policy-
planning  framework,  merit-based  recruitment,  and  rationalisation  of  the  organisation  of  the 
state  administration.  However,  strong  political  will  is  still  needed  to  effectively  address  the 
de-politicisation  of  the  public  service  and  the  optimisation  of  the  state  administration, 
inclusive  and  evidence-based  policy  development,  the  delegation  of  decision-making  and 
managerial accountability. 

Montenegro’s judicial system is moderately prepared and some progress has been made. The 
legislative  framework  aimed  at  increasing  the  independence  and  professionalism  of  the 
judiciary has yet to be fully implemented. Institutional capacity has been strengthened.  

Montenegro  has  achieved  some  level  of  preparation  in  the  fight  against  corruption.  There 
was  some  limited  progress  during  the  reporting  period.  However,  corruption  is  prevalent  in 
many  areas  and  remains  an  issue  of  concern.  The  operational  capacity  of  institutions  has 
improved; however, all institutions should demonstrate a more proactive attitude. Challenges 
to the credibility, independence and priority-setting of the Anti-Corruption Agency still need 
to be addressed. Financial investigations and seizure and confiscation of assets remain to be 
improved.  An  initial  track  record  of  investigation,  prosecution  and  final  convictions  in 
high-level  corruption  cases  has  been  established,  but  the  criminal  justice  response  against 
high-level  corruption  remains  too  limited.  Further  improvements  in  this  regard  will  only  be 
possible  in  an  environment  where  independent  institutions  are  shielded  from  any  undue 
influence and encouraged to fully use their powers. 

In  the  fight  against  organised  crime,  Montenegro  remains  moderately  prepared.  Some 
progress  was  made  in  judicial  cooperation  and  in  some  areas  of  the  fight  against  organised 
crime.  An  initial  track  record  of  investigations  into  money  laundering,  of  financial 
investigations  and  of  temporary  seizures  of  criminal  assets  was  developed.  The  enhanced 
international police cooperation is bringing results, as illustrated by a number of high-profile 
international  operations,  arrests  and  drug  seizures.  However,  further  results  are  needed  to 
produce  a  convincing  track  record  on  the  more  complex  types  of  organised  crimes,  where 
local vested interests are at stake, including in money laundering, trafficking in human beings 
and tobacco smuggling, as well as in the confiscation of proceeds of crime.  

On  fundamental  rights,  Montenegro  further  aligned  its  legislation  with  EU  standards.  The 
capacity of the Ombudsman office and the National Preventive Mechanism has improved, but 
more  efforts  are  still  needed  in  strengthening  the  institutional  framework  and  effective 
protection  of  human  rights.  Montenegro  needs  to  ensure  that  adequate  institutional 
mechanisms are in place to protect vulnerable groups from discrimination. Implementation of 
the legislation remains weak and institutional capacity on human rights needs to be increased. 
The  Roma  and  Egyptians  minority  remains  the  most  vulnerable  and  most  discriminated 
community.  Gender-based  violence  and  violence  against  children  remain  issues  of  serious 
concern.  

Montenegro  has  achieved  some  level  of  preparation  on  freedom  of  expression,  but  no 
progress  was  made  in  the  reporting  period.  There  have  been  very  limited  developments 
regarding  investigations  into  cases  of  violence  against  journalists.  Recent  political 

29 

 
 
 
 
interference in the national public broadcaster Council and the Agency for Electronic Media 
are a matter of serious concern. The media scene remains highly polarised and challenges in 
understanding the role of free media persists. Self-regulatory mechanisms remain weak.  

As  regards  the  economic  criteria,  Montenegro  has  made  some  progress  and  is  moderately 
prepared in developing a functioning market economy. The economy continued expanding at 
a  robust  pace,  improving  labour  market  outcomes  even  though  the  unemployment  rate 
remained  high.  Despite  positive  export  dynamics,  the  current  account  deficit,  fuelled  by 
strong domestic demand, remained very large and was only partially financed by net inflows 
of  foreign  direct  investment.  Financial  sector  solvency  and  liquidity  ratios  improved,  but 
access  to  finance for small companies remains hampered by tight  lending conditions.  Fiscal 
consolidation efforts continued through 2018, but the budget deficit target was missed while 
public debt reached a new record, partly due to financing needs for a large highway project, 
financed by a Chinese loan. Private sector development remained constrained by weaknesses 
in  the  business  environment,  the  judiciary,  and  a  high  prevalence  of  informality,  reflecting 
poor implementation capacity in key state institutions responsible to  enforce the rule of law 
and market competition.  

Montenegro has made some progress and is moderately prepared in its capacity to cope with 
competitive pressures and market forces within the Union. The development of infrastructure 
in  a  number  of  areas  is  gradually  setting  the  preconditions  for  improved  economic 
competitiveness. However, further efforts are needed to enhance human capital development 
and  to  reduce  the  mismatch  between  education  outcomes  and  labour  market  needs.  Local 
companies need to grow and step up efforts to increase international competitiveness.  

With  regard  to  good  neighbourly  relations  and  regional  cooperation,  Montenegro 
remained constructively committed to bilateral relations with other enlargement countries and 
neighbouring EU Member States and an active participant in regional cooperation.  

Concerning Montenegro's ability to assume the obligations of membership, important work 
on  alignment  and  preparation  for  the  implementation  of  the  acquis  has  taken  place  in  most 
areas.  The  country  has  reached  a  good  level  of  preparation  in  areas  such  as  company  law, 
intellectual  property  law,  energy,  and  foreign,  security  and  defence  policy.  It  is  moderately 
prepared in many chapters, such as free movement of goods, competition policy, agriculture 
and rural development, food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, as well as enterprise 
and  industrial  policy.  Montenegro  is  at  some  level  of  preparation  in  the  areas  such  as 
environment and climate change, and social policy and employment. Good progress has been 
made  in  the  areas  of  right  of  establishment  and  freedom  to  provide  services,  intellectual 
property law, agriculture and rural development, and food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary 
policy.  Looking  ahead,  Montenegro  should  focus  in  particular  on  competition  policy, 
environment  and  climate  change,  as  well  as  public  procurement.  Strengthening  the 
administrative  capacity  for  ensuring  the  application  of  the  acquis  remains  an  important 
challenge  for Montenegro. Montenegro has continued to  align with  all EU common foreign 
and security policy positions and declarations.  

In the area of migration, Montenegro was hit by a sharp surge in irregular migration, due to 
the partial shift of regional migration flux towards the so-called "coastal route" along Albania, 
Montenegro  and  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina.  Montenegrin  authorities  apprehended  4 753 
irregular migrants (a 460% increase compared with 2017), which put the country's reception 
and  administrative  capacities  under  strong  pressure.  The  legal  framework  was  further 
strengthened with the entry into force of an important legal package on migration and asylum, 
while  some  measures  were  taken  to  increase  the  reception  and  operational  capacities. 
Important  border  cooperation  agreements  with  neighbouring  countries  were  signed  and  the 

30 

 
 
 
 
European Border and Coast Guard Status Agreement with the EU was initialled. In the next 
reporting  period,  Montenegro  should  further  strengthen  the  capacity  to  deal  with  mixed 
migration  flows  and  the  integration  of  refugees;  continue  to  increase  human  and  material 
resources devoted to border management and migrants’ registration system. 

Serbia 

As  regards  the  political  criteria,  there  is  an  urgent  need  to  create  more  space  for  genuine 
cross-party  debate,  in  order  to  forge  a  broad  pro-European  consensus  which  is  vital  for  the 
country’s progress on its EU path. Several opposition parties started boycotting the parliament 
in  early  2019.  The  ruling  coalition’s  parliamentary  practices  led  to  a  deterioration  of 
legislative debate and scrutiny, and undermined the parliament’s oversight of the executive.  

Weekly  anti-government  protests  started  in  Belgrade  in  December  2018  in  reaction  to  an 
attack on an opposition party leader. The overall peaceful protests, demanding freedom of the 
media and free and fair elections, grew over time. Several opposition parties have announced 
their intention to boycott parliamentary elections, unless demands for free and fair elections 
are  met.  Serbia  needs  to  fully  address  all  recommendations  on  the  elections,  identified  by 
international observers, as a matter of priority.  

Serbia  is  moderately  prepared  in  the  area  of  public  administration  reform.  Some  progress 
was made in the area of service delivery and with the adoption of several new laws. Political 
influence on senior managerial appointments remains an issue of serious concern, especially 
regarding  an  excessive  number  of  acting  positions.  Serbia’s  ability  to  attract  and  retain 
qualified  staff  in  the  administration  dealing  with  EU  issues  is  crucial.  A  coordinated 
monitoring  and  reporting  system  of  the  public  administration  reform  strategy  and  public 
financial management reform programme is yet to be established.  

Serbia’s judicial system has some level of preparation. Some progress was achieved during 
the reporting period. Last year’s recommendations have only been partially addressed. Some 
progress  was  achieved  in  the  reduction  of  old  enforcement  cases  and  following  up  on 
measures to harmonise court practice. The constitutional reform process, intended to align the 
constitution with European standards for the judiciary, is ongoing. Further to the adoption of 
the constitutional amendments, the system for the appointment and evaluation of judges and 
prosecutors  needs  to  be  revised  to  allow  for  fully  merit-based  judicial  recruitments  and 
careers. Currently, the scope for political influence remains of concern.   

Serbia  has  some  level  of  preparation  in  the  fight  against  corruption.  Limited  progress  has 
been made. There is no measureable impact of corruption-prevention reforms. A revised Law 
on  the  prevention  of  corruption  (also  known  as  law  on  the  Anti-Corruption  Agency)  was 
adopted in May 2019. As regards the repression of corruption, the Law  on organisation and 
jurisdiction  of  government  authorities  in  suppression  of  organised  crime,  terrorism  and 
corruption, which entered into force in March 2018, is being implemented but it is too early to 
fully  assess  its  impact.  Law  enforcement  and  judicial  authorities  still  need  to  establish 
a credible track  record of operationally independent  prosecutions and of  finalised high-level 
corruption  cases.  Overall,  corruption  is  prevalent  in  many  areas  and  remains  an  issue  of 
concern.  

Serbia  has  some  level  of  preparation  in  the  fight  against  organised  crime.  Some  progress 
was made over the reporting period. Serbia started to implement the new economic chapter of 
the criminal code and the Law on organisation and jurisdiction of state authorities in the fight 
against  organised  crime,  terrorism  and  corruption  and  adopted  a  cybercrime  strategy  for 
2019-2023. At the same time, no progress was made in fulfilling the recommendations of the 

31 

 
 
 
 
previous  report.  Serbia  has  yet  to  establish  a  convincing  track  record  of  effective 
investigations,  prosecutions  and  final  convictions  in  organised  crime  cases,  including 
financial investigations leading to a track record of freezing and confiscating criminal assets. 
The  number  of  convictions  for  organised  crime  (notably  in  the  fight  against  trafficking  in 
human beings) remains low.  

The legislative and institutional  framework for upholding  fundamental rights  is  broadly in 
place. Amendments  improving the legislative  framework related to  national  minorities were 
adopted.  Consistent  and  efficient  implementation  of  legislation  and  policies  needs  to  be 
ensured. While Serbia has some level  of  preparation, no progress  was made on  freedom of 
expression. This lack of progress is now a matter of serious concern. A new media strategy 
was drafted in a transparent and inclusive manner; it needs to be adopted and implemented. 
Serbia  needs  to  step  up  measures  to  protect  the  rights  of  persons  facing  discrimination, 
including  LGBTI  persons,  persons  with  disabilities,  persons  with  HIV/AIDS  and  other 
vulnerable individuals.  

As regards the economic criteria, Serbia has made some progress and is moderately prepared 
in  developing  a  functioning  market  economy.  External  imbalances  are  on  the  rise,  although 
their financing remained healthy. Price pressures  remained subdued and inflation contained. 
Major fiscal adjustments over previous years have significantly improved debt sustainability. 
Financial sector stability was preserved and labour market performance has improved with the 
exception  of  the  youth  activity  rate,  which  declined.  Major  structural  reforms  of  public 
administration,  the  tax  authority,  and  state-owned  enterprises  advanced  slowly,  prolonging 
long-standing  inefficiencies.  The  authorities  are  addressing  weaknesses  in  the  budgetary 
framework  and  its  governance  at  a  slow  pace.  The  state  retains  a  strong  footprint  in  the 
economy and the private sector is underdeveloped and hampered by weaknesses in the rule of 
law and in the enforcement of fair competition. 

Serbia has made some progress and is moderately prepared to cope with competitive pressure 
and  market  forces  within  the  Union.  The  structure  of  the  economy  improved  further  and 
economic  integration  with  the  EU  remained  high.  However,  despite  some  progress,  the 
quality,  equity  and  relevance  of  education  and  training  does  not  fully  meet  labour  market 
needs.  Investment  increased  but  remains  insufficient,  after  years  of  underinvestment,  to 
address infrastructure gaps. Although the cost of small and medium enterprises borrowing has 
declined  recently,  they  still  face  a  number  of  challenges,  including  a  volatile  business 
environment and unfair competition. 

Serbia overall remained committed to bilateral relations with other enlargement countries and 
neighbouring  EU  Member  States  and  an  active  participant  in  regional  cooperation.  In  the 
context  of  being  granted  the  seat  of  the  Transport  Community  Treaty  Secretariat,  Serbia 
should  now  provide  further  support  to  ensure  the  conditions  are  in  place  for  it  to  take  up 
operations swiftly.  

Regarding the normalisation of relations with Kosovo, Serbia has remained engaged in the 
dialogue  and  showed  restraint  in  its  response  to  the  introduction  of  the  customs  tariffs. 
However, Serbia needs to make substantial efforts, in particular in its international relations, 
to  establish a conducive environment  to  the  conclusion of a legally  binding agreement  with 
Kosovo. Such an agreement is urgent and crucial so that Serbia and Kosovo can advance on 
their respective European paths. 

As  regards  its  ability  to  assume  the  obligations  of  membership,  Serbia  has  continued  to 
work towards aligning its legislation with the EU acquis across the board. Adequate financial 
and human resources and sound strategic frameworks will be crucial for the pace of reforms. 
Serbia  has  a  good  level  of  preparation  in  some  areas  such  as  company  law,  intellectual 

32 

 
 
 
 
property,  transport  policy,  science  and  research,  education  and  culture,  and  customs.  Serbia 
improved  the  linking  of  its  investment  planning  to  budget  execution  but  has  yet  to  develop 
a single  mechanism  for  prioritising  all  investments  regardless  of  the  source  of  funding  in 
accordance  with  the  government’s  public  finance  management  reform  programme.  In  areas 
such  as  public  procurement,  statistics,  external  relations,  social  policy  and  employment, 
monetary  policy  and  financial  services,  Serbia  is  moderately  prepared.  Serbia  continued  to 
make good progress in agriculture and in aligning with the EU transport acquis while limited 
progress was noted in the area of energy. The policy areas of environment and climate change 
have yet to receive adequate attention.  

Serbia  needs  to  address,  as  a  matter  of  priority,  issues  of  non-compliance  with  the  SAA, 
regarding  in  particular  state  aid  control,  fiscal  discrimination  on  imported  spirits,  and 
restriction  to  competition  in  the  card-based  payment  system.  Serbia  needs  to  progressively 
align its foreign and security policy with the European Union’s common foreign and security 
policy in the period up to accession.  

Serbia continued to manage the effects of the mixed migratory flows towards the EU, which 
have stabilised throughout 2018. It made some progress in implementing the integrated border 
management strategy. The European Border and Coast Guard Status Agreement with the EU 
was initialled. The strategy and action plan to counter irregular migration have been adopted. 
Serbia needs to respect the obligation of readmission of third country nationals under the EU 
Serbia  Readmission  Agreement.  Serbia  furthermore  should  refrain  from  further  diverging 
from the EU visa policy. 

North Macedonia 

Concerning the political criteria, North Macedonia has continued to maintain a steady pace 
of implementation of EU reforms throughout the reporting period. The government has taken 
steps  to  restore  checks  and  balances,  and  to  strengthen  democracy  and  the  rule  of  law.  The 
country  has  continued  to  undergo  fundamental  changes  in  an  inclusive  and  open  political 
atmosphere. The country has continued to deliver tangible results in key areas identified in the 
Council  Conclusions  such  as  the  judiciary,  fight  against  corruption  and  organised  crime, 
intelligence  services  reform  and  public  administration.  The  culture  of  compromise  in  the 
political landscape has improved by the government’s efforts to reach out to all stakeholders, 
including the opposition and civil society, in an inclusive and transparent manner. Following 
the signature of the historic agreement reached with Greece in June 2018 (also known as the 
‘Prespa  agreement’),  a  consultative  referendum  was  organised  in  September  2018,  whereby 
an  overwhelming  majority  of  voters  who  cast  their  ballots  supported  EU  and  NATO 
membership  by  accepting  the  Prespa  agreement.  The  presidential  elections  were  well 
organised  and  the  fundamental  freedoms  were  respected,  allowing  the  citizens  to  make 
informed  choices  between  the  candidates.  The  Parliament  has  improved  its  performance  as 
a forum  for  constructive  political  dialogue  and  enhanced  its  oversight  and  legislative 
functions, including by limiting the use of fast-track procedures.  

The  inter-ethnic  situation  remained  calm  overall,  despite  some  occasional  tensions.  The 
government  pursued  its  commitment  to  increase  trust  among  communities.  The  Ohrid 
Framework  Agreement,  which  ended  the  2001  conflict  and  provides  the  framework  for 
preserving  the  multi-ethnic  character  of  the  society,  is  mentioned  in  the  preamble  of  the 
Constitution and continued to be implemented.  

The  climate  in  which  civil  society  organisations  operate  has  continued  to  improve.  Civil 
society  continued  to  play  a  constructive  role  in  supporting  democratic  processes.  Strategic 
documents  have  been  adopted,  providing  guidance  on  the  cooperation  between  government 

33 

 
 
 
 
and  civil  society.  Both  governmental  and  non-governmental  actors  should  aim  at 
a meaningful consultation process. 

On  intelligence  services  reform,  North  Macedonia  has  made  good  progress.  Following  the 
reform  of  the  system  for  interception  of  communications,  the  new  Operational  Technical 
Agency is fully operational. The country has also embarked on the reform of its intelligence 
services  in  cooperation  with  NATO  and  other  partners.  A  model  has  been  selected  and  the 
legal framework for establishing a new National Security Agency has been adopted. 

North Macedonia is moderately prepared with the reform of its public administration. Good 
progress  has  been  made,  especially  with  the  implementation  of  the  public  administration 
reform  strategic  framework,  improved  public  consultations  and  increased  transparency  in 
policy-making and in the area of policy development and coordination. Steps have been taken 
to  address  alleged  politicised  appointments.  However,  further  efforts  are  needed  to  enhance 
accountability of the administration and prevent its politicisation. Respect for the principles of 
transparency, merit and equitable representation remains essential. 

in  addressing 

The country’s judicial system has reached some level of preparation / is moderately prepared 
and  good  progress  was  made 
the  ‘Urgent  Reform  Priorities’  and 
recommendations  from  the  Venice  Commission  and  the  Senior  Experts’  Group  on  systemic 
Rule  of  Law  issues.  The  country  demonstrated  continued  determination  to  improve  the 
judicial  system  and  the  implementation  of  the  new  legal  framework  is  a  firm  basis  for 
continued progress. A new law on the Public Prosecutor Office to integrate the Special Public 
Prosecutor  within  the  prosecutorial  system  has  been  prepared.  The  courts  have  been 
delivering  judgements  on  some  high  profile  cases  filed  by  the  Special  Prosecutor’s  Office. 
Beyond  legal  changes,  all  judicial  institutions  need  to  demonstrate  their  exemplarity  and 
contribute, through additional efforts, to restoring public trust in the judiciary. 

As  regards  the  fight  against  corruption,  North  Macedonia  has  some  level  of  preparation. 
Good progress  has  been  made through further consolidating a track record on investigating, 
prosecuting  and  trying  high  level  corruption  cases  and  through  changes  to  the  legislative 
framework. In this regard, the new legal  framework for preventing corruption has improved 
and  the  appointment  of  the  new  members  of  the  State  Commission  for  Prevention  of 
Corruption  has  been  far  more  transparent  than  in  the  previous  years.  The  Commission  has 
taken  important  steps  to  proactively  fight  against  corruption,  involving  high  level  officials 
across the political spectrum. The Special Public Prosecutor has confirmed its leading role in 
investigating and prosecuting high-level corruption cases. The authorities have to further step 
up  efforts  to  demonstrate  that  fight  against  corruption  is  a  national  priority  at  all  levels  of 
powers. However, corruption is prevalent in many areas and remains an issue of concern. 

In  the  fight  against  organised  crime,  the  country  has  some  level  of  preparation.  The 
legislative  framework  is  broadly  in  line  with  European  standards,  and  efforts  to  implement 
strategies against organised crime and actively measuring their impact need to continue. Some 
progress  was  also  made  in  meeting  last  years’  recommendations  on  improving  the  track 
record, stepping up law enforcement cooperation and substantially improving the operational 
capacity  to  fight  trafficking  in  human  beings.  Further  progress  was  made  at  the  operational 
level  through improving the effectiveness  of the National  Coordination Centre for the  Fight 
against  Organised  Crime  and  participation  in  joint  operations  with  EU  Member  States  and 
neighbouring countries. 

The  legal  framework  for  the  protection  of  fundamental  rights  is  largely  in  line  with 
European standards and the country made good  progress.  It  increased the protection against 
hate crime and discrimination with amendments to the Criminal Code and the adoption of the 
Law  on  Prevention  and  Protection  from  Discrimination.  It  also  adopted  an  ambitious  de-

34 

 
 
 
 
institutionalisation  strategy  and  it  transcribed  its  objectives  to  fight  violence  against  women 
into  an  action  plan  for  implementing  the  Istanbul  Convention.  However,  the  external 
oversight  mechanism  of  the  police  is  not  yet  fully  operational  and  the  country  needs  to 
develop further the use of alternative sanctions and probation. The country also needs to make 
additional efforts to consistently disseminate and address recommendations of European and 
international  human  rights  bodies,  notably  regarding  treatment  of  detained  persons,  women 
and  persons  with  disabilities.  The  country  has  some  level  of  preparation  /  is  moderately 
prepared in  the  area  of  freedom of expression and it has made  good progress  over the last 
year. The climate  for media freedom  and  freedom  of expression continued to  improve.  It  is 
essential  that  public  officials  and  the  political  elites  demonstrate  a  higher  level  of  tolerance 
towards  criticism,  thereby  upholding  freedom  of  expression.  The  country  needs  to  make 
sustained  efforts  to  improve  the  independence  and  professional  standards  of  the  public 
broadcaster  as  well  as  its  financial  sustainability.  Amendments  to  the  Law  on  Audio  and 
Audio-visual Media Services have been adopted and their implementation will require strong 
political commitment to guarantee professionalism, respect for the principles of transparency, 
merit-based appointments and equitable representation. 

With  regard  to  regional  cooperation,  the  country  maintained  its  good  relations  with  other 
enlargement  countries  and  participated  actively  in  regional  initiatives.  Historic  steps  have 
been taken to  improve good neighbourly  relations, including through the entry into  force of 
the Prespa agreement and its implementation, putting an end to one of the oldest disputes in 
the  region.  The  Commission  looks  forward  to  the  continued  implementation  of  the  bilateral 
treaty with Bulgaria.  

As regards the economic criteria, North Macedonia has made some progress and is at a good 
level of preparation in developing a functioning market economy. Economic growth resumed 
after  a  year  of  stagnation,  though  investment  remained  subdued.  The  government  took 
measures  to  improve  public  finance  management  and  transparency.  It  adopted  reforms  of 
income taxation and the pensions system. However, the composition  of spending worsened, 
and  fiscal  consolidation  needs  to  be  more  ambitious  in  order  to  put  public  finances  on 
a sustainable path.  The functioning of the labour market  is impaired by  persisting structural 
problems. Contract enforcement and large informal economy continue posing challenges for 
the business environment.  

North  Macedonia  has  made  some  progress  and  is  moderately  prepared  to  cope  with 
competitive pressures and market forces within the EU. Integration with the EU in trade and 
investment  deepened  further.  Exports  and  manufacturing  output  diversified  further  towards 
higher-value  products.  However,  skills  shortages,  and  a  lack  of  skills  alignment  with  those 
required  by  companies,  reflecting  shortcomings  in  education  curricula,  impair  labour 
productivity  and  the  competitiveness  of  the  economy.  Important  investment  gaps  in  public 
infrastructure remain. 

As regards its  ability to  assume the obligations of membership, the country is  moderately 
prepared in  most areas, including in  the  areas of  competition,  public procurement, transport 
and  energy.  The  country  shows  a  good  level  of  preparation  in  areas  such  as  company  law, 
customs union, trans-European networks and science and research. Further efforts are needed 
across  the  board,  in  particular  in  those  few  areas  where  the  country  is  at  an  early  stage  of 
preparation, such as free movement of workers as well as financial and budgetary provisions. 
More  focus  is  also  needed  on  administrative  capacity  and  effective  implementation.  The 
country  has  continued  to  improve  its  alignment  with  the  EU  declarations  and  Council 
decisions on Common Foreign and Security Policy. 

35 

 
 
 
 
North  Macedonia  continues  to  play  an  active  and  constructive  role  in  the  management  of 
mixed migration flows. It cooperates effectively with EU Member States and neighbouring 
countries. Considerable efforts to ensure basic living conditions and services for all migrants 
staying  in  the  country  continued.  There  are  still  uncertainties  on  the  scope  and  structure  of 
migration  flows.  The  inconsistent  registration  of  migrants  apprehended  in  irregular 
movements prevents regular and adequate protection-sensitive profiling, as well as referral to 
national  protection  mechanisms.  Effective  control  at  the  southern  border  has  been  ensured, 
including with  the deployment  of  guest  officers from EU Member States  at  the border. The 
European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Status  Agreement  with  the  EU  was  initialled.  However, 
the  problem  of  frequent  smuggling  activities  at  the  northern  border  need  to  be  further 
addressed. The country continues to be under severe pressure due to its geographic location.  

Albania 

As regards the  political  criteria, Albania has continued to  make progress on its EU reform 
agenda throughout  the reporting period. Strong polarisation persisted in the political  sphere. 
Parliamentary activities were affected by a prolonged boycott from opposition parties, which 
then also relinquished en bloc their parliamentary mandates in February 2019. More than half 
of the relinquished parliamentary mandates have now been reassigned by the Central Election 
Commission  and  the  quorum  for  the  full  functioning  of  Parliament  is  maintained.  Main 
opposition parties decided not to register for the local elections, which are scheduled to take 
place on 30 June 2019. The main opposition parties’ disengagement has negatively affected 
the  efforts  for  a  bipartisan  electoral  reform  despite  the  majority’s  efforts  to  move  forward. 
Opposition parties should constructively re-engage in the democratic institutions. 

Albania  is  moderately  prepared  in  what  concerns  the  reform  of  its  public  administration. 
Efforts  continued  in  several  related  areas,  resulting  in  some  progress  in  the  efficiency  and 
transparency  of  public  services  delivery,  improving  the  regulatory  framework  on  impact 
assessment of policies, more transparent recruitment procedures, and the overall strengthening 
of  the  administration’s  capacity  to  undertake  merit-based  civil  service  procedures. 
Consolidation  of  these  achievements  should  advance  further,  to  ensure  a  more  efficient, 
depoliticised, and professional public administration. 

level  of  preparation.  The 

Albania's  judicial  system  has  some 
implementation  of 
comprehensive  and  thorough  justice  reform  has  continued  consistently,  resulting  in  good 
progress overall. The new institutions for the self-governing of the judiciary, the High Judicial 
Council,  the  High  Prosecutorial  Council  and  the  Justice  Appointment  Council  have  been 
established, representing a crucial step in strengthening the independence and accountability 
of the judiciary. The temporary re-evaluation of all judges and prosecutors (vetting process) 
has  advanced  steadily,  producing  tangible  results.  Under  the  aegis  of  the  European 
Commission,  the  International  Monitoring  Operation  has  continued  to  oversee  the  process. 
More  than  140  files  have  been  processed,  resulting  in  88  dismissals/resignations  of 
magistrates  from  office  and 53 confirmations.  Most dismissals pertained to  issues related to 
unjustified  assets.  These  concrete  and  credible  results  have  substantially  strengthened  the 
sector and consolidated independence, impartiality, professionalism, and accountability of the 
judiciary. 

Albania  has  some  level  of  preparation  in  the  fight  against  corruption.  Good  progress  was 
made, notably with the adoption of the new Action Plan 2018-2020 for the implementation of 
the Inter-sectoral Strategy against Corruption, the amendments to the Law on the Declaration 
and Audit of Assets, the Law on Public Procurement as well as the adoption of the Code of 
Conduct for members of Parliament. The establishment of an Anti-corruption Task Force has 

36 

 
 
 
 
increased  the  proactivity  of  administrative  investigations.  Direct  access  to  databases  for 
prosecutors  and  the  police  continued  to  improve.  Good  progress  has  continued  through  the 
strengthening  of  the  track  record  on  investigating,  prosecuting  and  trying  high  level 
corruption cases.  Concrete results in  the fight  against  corruption include  the vetting process 
which has led to the dismissal from office of a number of high-ranking magistrates, including 
at  Constitutional  Court  and  High  Court  level.  The  establishment  of  the  High  Prosecutorial 
Council (HPC) allowed the launch of the establishment of specialised anti-corruption bodies 
(Special  Anti-Corruption  and  Organised  Crime  Structure  –  SPAK,  National  Bureau  of 
Investigation  –  NBI).  Once  the  vetting  of  candidates  is  completed,  the  bodies  will  become 
operational which will strengthen the overall capacity to investigate and prosecute corruption. 
However, overall, corruption is prevalent in many areas and remains an issue of concern.  

Albania has some level of preparation in the fight against organised crime. Police operations 
to dismantle criminal organisations have been intensified.  Several police operations resulted 
in multiple arrests, and a number of important indictments and convictions took place. These 
operations  resulted  in  the  arrest  and  prosecution  of  known  leaders  of  organised  criminal 
groups.  International  police  cooperation,  especially  with  EU  Member  States,  has  also 
intensified,  leading  to  a  number  of  successful  large-scale  law  enforcement  operations. 
Consistently  for  the  past  years,  Albania  showed  a  strong  commitment  to  counter  the 
production and trafficking of cannabis. Albania allows an intrusive monitoring mechanism by 
an  EU  Member  State  (aerial  surveys  by  the  Italian  Guardia  di  Finanza,  co-financed  by  the 
EU) to be in place. In the past two crop seasons, aerial surveillance has certified that almost 
no cultivation of cannabis has taken place in Albania. These steps represent tangible progress 
in  meeting  last  years’  recommendations  on  improving  the  track  record.  Efforts  need  to 
continue, in particular by tackling money laundering and confiscating assets stemming from 
crimes and other unjustified wealth.  

On  fundamental  rights,  Albania  complies  overall  with  international  human  rights 
instruments  and  developed  its  legal  framework  in  line  with  European  standards.  During  the 
reporting  period,  Albania  has  made  efforts  to  meet  obligations  that  arise  from  international 
legal  instruments.  The overall implementation  of those instruments  remains,  however, to  be 
strengthened.  Legal  framework  was  improved  in  the  areas  of  child’s  rights  and  domestic 
violence. A new law on social housing was approved by the parliament in May 2018, which 
aims to strengthen the protection of the right to housing of the most vulnerable members of 
the  Roma  and  Egyptian9  communities.  Further  efforts  are  needed  in  relation  to  the 
consolidation of property rights. As regards the freedom of expression, the overall legislative 
environment  is  conducive  to  the  exercise  of  freedom  of  expression,  but  implementation 
requires further efforts. 

As  regards  the  economic  criteria,  Albania  has  made  some  progress  and  is  moderately 
prepared  in  developing  a  functioning  market  economy.  Economic  growth  increased  further 
and  unemployment  decreased  but  remains  still  high.  Exports  grew  solidly  and  the  current 
account  deficit  narrowed.  The  high  public  debt-to-GDP  ratio  continued  to  decrease  but  the 
pace  of  fiscal  consolidation  remained  slow.  Banks  continued  to  reduce  the  number  of 
non-performing  loans  and  the  use  of  foreign  currency.  The  banking  sector  remained  stable, 
though business credit growth did not pick up. Steps towards developing the financial market 
have been taken. The business environment has improved only in some aspects. Progress in 
the implementation of comprehensive justice reform is expected to contribute to strengthening 
the business environment and attracting investments. Some progress was made on increasing 

9  In  line  with  the  terminology  of  European  institutions,  the  umbrella  term  ‘Roma’  is  used  here  to  refer  to  a 
number of different groups, without denying the specificities of these groups. 

37 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
labour market participation and the quality and effectiveness of labour market institutions and 
services,  but  the  employment  rate  and  labour  market  participation  remain  low,  and  the 
informal economy is still a significant job provider. 

Albania  has  made  some  progress  and  has  some  level  of  preparation  in  terms  of  capacity  to 
cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union. Albania has made some 
progress  in  terms  of  energy,  transport  and  digital  infrastructure  development,  but  lack  of 
productive  know-how,  low  education  levels  and  technology  transfers  hinder  Albania’s 
competitiveness  and  integration  into  international  value  chains.  Exports  and  regional 
integration are below potential. Efforts to improve education and training show some results 
but reforms need to continue in particular to better address rural areas and vulnerable groups. 
Albania’s capacity for research, development and innovation remained very low. 

With  regard  to  good  neighbourly  relations  and  regional  cooperation,  Albania  has 
continued  to  participate  actively  in  regional  cooperation  and  maintain  good  neighbourly 
relations. Important steps have been taken to address bilateral issues with Greece. 

Albania continued to align its legislation to EU requirements in a number of areas, enhancing 
its ability to assume the obligations of membership. The country is moderately prepared in 
many areas, such as financial control, education and culture and statistics, or  has some level 
of  preparation,  including  in  the  areas  of  public  procurement  and  trans-European  networks. 
Albania  will  need  to  continue  its  efforts  related  to  its  overall  preparations  to  adopt  and 
implement the EU acquis. Adopting a comprehensive Public Internal Financial Control policy 
and  coordinating  its  implementation  with  ongoing  public  administration  and  public  finance 
management  reform  remains  key  towards  a  functioning  system  of  internal  control  in  public 
sector.  Albania  should  continue  work  on  the  development  of  the  transport  and  energy 
networks,  and  related  connectivity  reform  measures,  also  with  a  view  to  improving 
connectivity throughout the region.  

The  administrative  capacity  and  professional  standards  of  bodies  charged  with  the 
implementation  of  the  acquis  need  to  be  strengthened  and  the  independence  of  regulatory 
bodies  safeguarded.  Enhancing  transparency  and  accountability,  in  particular  ensuring  the 
effective, efficient and transparent functioning of the public procurement  system  and public 
finance  management,  remains  essential.  Albania  has  continued  to  fully  align  with  all EU 
common foreign and security policy positions and declarations. 

With regard to migration, some progress was made in improving the institutional capacity on 
border management and asylum. Albania signed the European Border and Coast Guard Status 
Agreement  with  the  EU  in  October  2018.  Reception  capacity  to  deal  with  mixed  migration 
flows  was  further  enhanced.  The  number  of  unfounded  asylum  applications  lodged  by 
Albanian  nationals  in  the  EU  has  decreased  but  remains  high  and  requires  continuous  and 
sustained efforts, as well as to address the phenomenon of unaccompanied minors.  

Kosovo 

As  concerns  the  political  criteria,  Kosovo  made  progress  in  the  implementation  of  certain 
key EU-related reforms, in  particular as regards the improvement of  the legal  framework in 
the areas of rule of law and public administration. However, a number of measures and ad hoc 
decisions were not in line with the government’s stated reform objectives. The excessive size 
of  the  government,  including  further  increases  in  the  number  of  deputy  ministers,  has 
continued to affect its credibility and effectiveness. 

The  Assembly  was  able  to  build  majorities  on  some  key  strategic  issues  for  Kosovo,  as 
demonstrated  by  the  ratification  of  the  border/boundary  demarcation  agreement  with 

38 

 
 
 
 
Montenegro  and  the  adoption  of  important  EU-related  legislative  reforms.  However,  the 
Assembly continued to operate in a highly polarised political context, and weaknesses in its 
overall  functioning  remained,  as  demonstrated  notably  by  the  frequent  lack  of  quorum, 
resulting in delays in the legislative activity. 

There has been limited progress  in  addressing the EU election observation mission findings 
and recommendations regarding parliamentary and municipal elections held in 2017.  

The situation in the north of Kosovo remains particularly challenging. 

There is some level of preparation in the area of public administration reform. During the 
reporting  period,  some  progress  was  made  overall,  however  serious  efforts  are  needed  to 
tackle the political influence on recruitment of senior civil servants. There was good progress 
with  the  adoption  of  the  package  of  laws  on  the  functioning  and  organisation  of  public 
administration, on public officials and on salaries. Other achievements include the adoption of 
guidelines on strategic planning and the start of the implementation of the action plan on the 
rationalisation of agencies. The revised legal framework is an important step towards creating 
a  modern  and  professional  civil  service  and  improving  accountability.  While  the  Law  on 
Salaries  introduces  a  more  transparent  and  equal  salary  system  for  public  officials,  its 
medium-term budgetary impact raises concerns.  

Kosovo's judicial system is at an early stage. Some progress has been achieved as the Law on 
the Disciplinary Liability of Judges and Prosecutors and the Law on Mediation were adopted, 
and  the  roll  out  of  an  electronic  case  management  system  has  advanced.  The  number  of 
judicial staff in both prosecution offices and courts increased in 2018, including in the Special 
Prosecution  Office.  While  the  integration  into  the  judicial  system  of  Kosovo  Serb  judges, 
prosecutors and their support staff was formally concluded in 2017, more work is needed to 
ensure  full  functionality,  in  particular  regarding  the  Court  of  Appeals.  The  judiciary  is  still 
vulnerable  to  undue  political  influence.  The  administration  of  justice  remains  slow  and 
inefficient and rule of law institutions need sustained efforts to build up their capacities.  

Kosovo  is  at  an  early  stage/has  some  level  of  preparation  in  the  fight  against  corruption. 
Kosovo has made some progress through significant legislative reforms in the rule of law area 
and  in  investigating  and  prosecuting  of  high-level  cases.  Progress  was  also  made  on 
preliminary  confiscation  of  assets  although  final  confiscations  remain  low.  Corruption  is 
widespread and remains an issue of concern.  

Kosovo is at an early stage in the fight against organised crime. Some progress was made 
notably  through  significant  legislative  reforms  in  the  rule  of  law  area,  in  investigating  and 
prosecuting  high-level  cases  and  on  the  preliminary  freezing  of  assets.  However,  little 
progress  was  made  on  final  confiscation  of  assets  and  there  are  still  few  financial 
investigations  and  final  convictions.  Measures  are  needed  to  strictly  ensure  there  is  no 
political  interference  with  operational  activities  of  law  enforcement  bodies  and  the 
prosecution. The situation in the north of Kosovo with regards to organised crime continues to 
pose challenges for law enforcement agencies.  

Progress  was  made  in  the  fight  against  terrorism,  especially  with  regard  to  creating  better 
conditions  for rehabilitation and reintegration of  foreign terrorist fighters  and their  families. 
The Kosovo authorities need to  be more effective in  their efforts  to  fight money laundering 
and the relevant law should be brought in line with EU acquis and international standards. 

The legal framework broadly guarantees the protection of human and fundamental rights in 
line with  European standards. However, the  implementation  of human rights  legislation and 
strategies  is  often  undermined  by  inadequate  financial  and  other  resources,  particularly  at 
local level, limited political prioritisation and lack of coordination. The existing mechanisms 

39 

 
 
 
 
for coordination and implementation of human rights are ineffective. The large dependence on 
foreign donors remains. More needs to be done to effectively guarantee the rights of persons 
belonging to minorities, including Roma and Ashkali and displaced persons, to ensure gender 
equality  in  practice,  to  set  up  an  integrated  child  protection  system  and  to  advance  the 
protection  of  cultural  heritage.  Kosovo  has  some  level  of  preparation  regarding  freedom  of 
expression,  which  is  enshrined  in  the  Constitution.  Kosovo  benefits  from  a  pluralistic  and 
lively  media  environment.  Rule  of  law  institutions  increasingly  follow  up  on  threats  and 
attacks  against  journalists  and  there  is  a  decrease  in  the  number  of  incidents.  A  sustainable 
solution  for  the  funding  of  the  public  broadcaster  remains  to  be  adopted.  The  broadcaster 
remains vulnerable to political pressure and influence. 

As regards the economic criteria, Kosovo is at an early stage and has made some progress in 
developing  a  functioning  market  economy.  Economic  growth  was  robust  but  the  very 
challenging labour market situation remains a concern. The government adhered to the fiscal 
rules, but spending pressures relating to social benefits for specific groups of the population 
and  public  employees’  wages  pose  risks  to  public  finances  and  hinder  private  sector 
development.  The  business  environment  improved  somewhat,  but  persistent  challenges 
remain,  including  the  widespread  informal  economy,  a  slow  and  inefficient  judiciary,  high 
prevalence of corruption and overall weak rule of law institutions. Despite strong growth of 
services exports, economic diversification has advanced slowly. 

Kosovo is at an early stage and has made some progress regarding its capacity to cope with 
competitive pressure and market forces in the EU. Kosovo made some progress in improving 
roads,  but  there  are  large  gaps  in  the  railway  and  energy  infrastructure.  Little  progress  was 
made in securing a stable energy supply and losses in the electricity sector remain very high. 
Kosovo made some progress as regards the digitalisation of the economy. Little progress was 
made on improving the quality of education and addressing skills gaps in the labour market. 
Structural changes are emerging only slowly and the economy remains highly reliant on the 
domestic  trade  sector.  Export  growth  is  driven  mainly  by  service  exports  to  the  diaspora, 
while the lack of product diversification hinders the growth of goods exports.  

As  regards  good  neighbourly  relations  and  regional  cooperation,  Kosovo  continued  to 
participate  in  most  regional  fora.  However,  Kosovo’s  decision  to  impose  a  100%  tariff  on 
imports  from  Serbia  and  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  has  undermined  regional  cooperation 
efforts. 

Regarding the normalisation of relations with Serbia, Kosovo has remained engaged in the 
dialogue.  However,  the  Kosovo  government  needs  to  revoke  the  tariffs  on  imports  from 
Serbia  and  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina.  Kosovo  needs  to  make  further  substantial  efforts  to 
establish  a  conducive  environment  to  the  conclusion  of  a  legally  binding  agreement  with 
Serbia.  Such  an  agreement  is  urgent  and  crucial  so  that  Kosovo  and Serbia  can  advance  on 
their respective European paths. 

As  regards  alignment  with  European  standards,  Kosovo  has  some  level  of  preparation. 
Legislative  alignment  has  continued  in  some  areas  but  implementation  is  weak.  Some 
progress was made in the area of free movement of goods, services and capital, as well as on 
financial services, public procurement and competition. Good progress was made in the areas 
of  statistics  and  financial  control.  In  the  area  of  taxation  and  customs,  some  progress  was 
made in collecting tax revenues, reducing the grey economy, or enforcing customs measures 
for  the  protection  of  intellectual  property  rights,  however  Kosovo  should  step  up  the  fight 
against the informal economy and tax evasion. Some progress has been achieved to address 
environmental  issues,  but  implementation  is  lagging  behind.  The  energy  sector  continues  to 
face  serious  challenges,  despite  some  progress  especially  on  energy  efficiency.  Overall, 

40 

 
 
 
 
Kosovo needs to  improve its administrative  capacity  and  coordination, across all sectors, to 
ensure effective implementation of the acquis.  

Authorities  have  made  progress  in  managing  regular  and  irregular  migration.  These  efforts 
should  be  continued  and  built  on.  In  this  context,  Kosovo  needs  to  put  in  place  a  return 
mechanism for irregular migrants in line with EU standards and practices.  

41 

 
 
 
 
ANNEX  3  -  Implementation  of  the  Western  Balkans  Strategy  and  the  Sofia  Priority 
Agenda: EU enhanced engagement 

The Western Balkans Strategy, adopted on 6 February 2018, has provided new momentum to 
EU-Western  Balkans  relations.  The  Strategy  focuses  on  areas  where  further  reforms  and 
efforts are needed from the Western Balkans partners, and on the EU’s enhanced support to 
the  region.  The  latter  encompasses  57  specific  commitments  grouped  in  six  flagship 
initiatives.  A  significant  proportion  of  these  actions  were  subsequently  endorsed  by  EU 
Member States and the Western Balkan partners through the Sofia Priority Agenda, adopted 
at the summit in Sofia on 17 May 2018.  

Since  the  adoption  of  the  Strategy,  the  Commission  has  focussed  on  fulfilling  its 
commitments  through  enhanced  political  engagement,  tightening  operational  links  between 
the  Western  Balkans  and  the  EU  and  its  agencies,  providing  wider  access  to  finance  and 
technical  assistance, as  well as refocussing EU financial assistance under the Instrument for 
Pre-accession Assistance (IPA), which in 2018 alone amounted to an annual allocation for the 
Western Balkans of over EUR 1.1 billion.  

In the first year of implementation of the Strategy, progress has been made in all six flagship 
initiatives.  The  region  has  received  significant  political  attention.  The  first  EU-Western 
Balkans summit since Thessaloniki in 2003 was held in Sofia in May 2018. There have been 
visits to the region from the President of the European Council and President of the European 
Commission,  as  well  as  a  number  of  ministerial  and  high-level  meetings.  All  these  events 
were aimed at mustering political will for a new momentum in the reform processes and for 
enhanced regional cooperation.  

Flagship Initiative 1 – Strengthening support to the rule of law focuses on three priorities: 
better monitoring of justice reforms, more targeted technical assistance on law enforcement, 
and enhancing support to civil society, democracy activism and independent media. The EU-
Western Balkans Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Forum in Tirana in October 2018 was 
crucial for progress in this field, particularly on strengthening cooperation with EU’s Justice 
and Home  Affairs (JHA) agencies and on the development  of appropriate indicators  for the 
justice systems.  

In  terms  of  monitoring  justice  reforms,  the  Commission  has  shifted  its  approach  towards 
simultaneous missions on specific issues in  all six partner administrations, where senior EU 
law enforcement officials meet their counterparts (“peer-reviews”). A series of reviews on the 
enforcement  of  civil  and  commercial  judgements  was  completed  in  2018,  another  series  on 
public  procurement  is  underway,  with  one  more  on  organised  crime  is  planned  for  later  in 
2019. The Commission is also developing new ways of collecting more harmonised data from 
the  justice  systems  of  the  partners.  A  major  deliverable  in  this  respect  will  be  a  regional 
project  with  the  Organisation  for  Security  and  Co-operation  in  Europe  (OSCE)  on  the 
monitoring of trials in the field of corruption and organised crime. The World Bank has been 
contracted  to  carry  out  a  series  of  regional  justice  surveys  and  the  Commission  for  the 
Efficiency  of  Justice  of  the  Council  of  Europe  (CEPEJ)  will  assist  in  harmonised  data 
collection from the region.  

The  Commission  has  also  engaged  in  a  more  tailored  form  of  technical  assistance,  namely 
advisory  missions,  focusing  on  justice  reforms  and  the  fight  against  organised  crime  and 
corruption. Two such missions are currently underway in Montenegro and Albania, two more 
are  scheduled  to  start  in  2019  in  Kosovo  and  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  and  another  one  is 
foreseen in North Macedonia and, possibly, in Serbia. 

42 

 
 
 
 
The  Commission  is  also  working  closely  with  the  European  Endowment  for  Democracy 
(EED)  to  support  independent  media  platforms,  civil  society  and  democracy  activists. 
Through  additional  EU  support  of  EUR  6  million,  the  Fund  has  been  able  to  extend  its 
operations to the Western Balkans in 2018, with 14 new grants financed in this field. 

Flagship  Initiative  2  –  Reinforcing  engagement  on  security  and  migration  concerns 
engaging  with  the  region  to  address  common  security  threats,  including  terrorism,  violent 
extremism, radicalisation, organised crime, trafficking of human beings and firearms, hybrid 
threats,  as  well  as  building  the  capacity  of  the  partners  to  deal  with  challenges  related  to 
migration  and  security.  This  strand  of  activity  was  supported  by  ministerial  meetings  in 
London  in  July  and  in  Tirana  in  October  2018,  which  were  essential  in  establishing  closer 
cooperation  on  security,  on  stockpile  of  weapons  and  in  planning  joint  counter-terrorism 
measures. 

The  Commission  and  the  six  Western  Balkan  partners  agreed  on  a  Joint  Action  Plan  on 
Counter-Terrorism at the EU-Western Balkans Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Forum in 
Tirana. The Commission is now facilitating the preparation of country-specific action plans, 
aligned  with  the  regional  priorities.  The  Commission  has  also  set  up  a  regional  network  of 
national coordinators for preventing violent extremism, which held two meetings in 2018, and 
one in March 2019.  

The  Commission  is  finalising  the  review  of  its  2015-2019  Action  Plan  on  Firearms 
Trafficking between the EU and South-East Europe. The EU has allocated dedicated funding 
from the CFSP budget line to support the implementation ofthe Regional Roadmap on Small 
Arms  and  Light  Weapons  (SALW),  adopted  at  the  London  meeting  of  Ministers  of  the 
Interior in July 2018.  

The  EU  has  reached  out  to  the  Western  Balkan  partners  to  engage  them  in  the  EU  Policy 
Cycle against Serious and Organised Crime and in the preparation and implementation of the 
relevant  annual  action  plans.  The  EEAS  for  its  part  has  increased  the  frequency  of  the 
Common  Foreign  and  Security  Policy  dialogue  meetings  with  the  Western  Balkans  to 
encourage further alignment of the region  with  the EU’s common positions. The EEAS has 
approached all Western Balkans partners to participate in hybrid risk surveys with a view to 
assessing their vulnerabilities and better directing EU assistance. So far the surveys have been 
launched with four partners.  

On  migration,  the  Commission,  in  cooperation  with  relevant  EU  agencies  and  international 
organisations,  continues  to  pursue  ambitious  projects  in  the  field  of  migration  management, 
building  the  partners’  capacity  in  the  management  of  mixed  migration  flows,  establishing 
asylum procedures, return mechanisms and information exchange. The Commission has also 
undertaken initiatives to better coordinate the work of the migration liaison officers posted in 
the region and to improve the exchange of operational information.  

In order to achieve better synergies in the field of security and migration, the Commission has 
been facilitating greater involvement of JHA agencies in the Western Balkans. This included 
the signature of a working arrangement between the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs 
and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), the signature of a cooperation agreement between Eurojust 
and Albania (following those already in place with Montenegro and North Macedonia), and 
completion of the European Border and Coast Guard Status Agreement negotiations with the 
five countries of the region that share a border with the EU. The agreement with Albania has 
entered  into  force,  and  the  first  border  guards  have  been  deployed.  Finally,  in  order  to 
improve coordination of engagement of its agencies active in the field, the Commission has 
set up a Task Force of EU JHA agencies to support work in the Western Balkans. 

43 

 
 
 
 
The total 2018 allocation for actions related to rule of law, security and migration amounted 
to over EUR 145 million. 

Flagship  Initiative  3  –  Supporting  socio-economic  development  focuses  on  fostering 
progress in the implementation of the Regional Economic Area (REA), adapting the existing 
investment  frameworks  to  boost  investment  in  the  region,  more  strategic  use  of  Economic 
Reform Programmes and supporting education and social reforms. The meetings of Ministers 
of  Economy  in  Vienna  in  July  and  of  the  Ministers  of  Education  in  Brussels  in  June  2018 
were  important  catalysts  of  progress  in  this  flagship,  particularly  as  concerns  the 
implementation of the REA and various initiatives in the area of vocational training, student 
mobility  and  recognition  of  qualifications.  In  2019,  the  EU  is  also  launching  systematic 
meetings with Western Balkans Employment Ministers. 

The Commission, together with the Regional Cooperation Council, continued to facilitate the 
implementation of the REA Multi-annual Action Plan (REA MAP). Milestone achievements 
in  this  field  included  the  entry-into-force  of  Additional  Protocol  5  to  the  Central  European 
Free Trade Agreement  (CEFTA) on trade facilitation in  April 2018,  the endorsement of the 
Regional  Investment  Reform  Agenda  (RIRA)  and  the  launch  of  a  regional  programme  for 
financial markets diversification and integration. Negotiations on the liberalisation of trade in 
services have been completed, while they started on mobility of professionals in the region. 

The  expansion  of  the  Western  Balkans  Investment  Fund  (WBIF),  both  strategically  and 
financially,  is  underway.  A  mid-term  review,  carried  out  to  inform  this  expansion,  was 
concluded in 2018, and the Agence francaise de developpement (AFD) became a participating 
international  financial institution (IFI) in  the WBIF in  December 2018  and the World  Bank 
Group in April 2019. The establishment of the Western Balkans Guarantee, intended to crowd 
in private investment in the region, is progressing with the ex-ante assessment completed in 
2018 and the dialogue with IFIs launched.  

The Commission has also enhanced its support to private sector development with a focus on 
start-ups  and  access  to  finance  for  young  entrepreneurs.  A  new  regional  youth  guarantee 
scheme  of  EUR  10  million  has  been  launched  to  strengthen  young  people’s  entrepreneurial 
capacity and provide job opportunities – it could provide up to EUR 80 million of financing. 
In Serbia, the Commission has put in place a similar EUR 20 million guarantee programme, 
expected to leverage up to EUR 180 million in new loans for Serbian start-ups and innovative 
companies.  The  Commission  is  also  making  arrangements  to  extend  its  support  for 
developing  smart  specialisation  strategies  to  the  Western  Balkans,  currently  only  offered  to 
Member States. 

The  EU  has  taken  steps  to  increase  the  strategic  use  of  the  Economic  Reform  Programmes 
(ERP) of the partners by bringing their preparation in line with the European Semester. The 
monitoring  of  employment  and  social  reforms  has  been  strengthened  through  the  ERP 
exercise,  but  also  through  the  establishment  of  an  annual  EU-Western  Balkans  Ministerial 
meeting  that  will  take  place  in  June  2019.  Moreover,  the  EU’s  financial  support  to 
employment, education, social inclusion and health has been enhanced through a number of 
new  bilateral  assistance  programmes,  as  well  as  a  VET  mobility  scheme  for  vocational 
education  and  training  for  the  region.  The  EU  is  gradually  increasing  its  support  under 
Erasmus+ with a view to doubling it by 2020. 

The total IPA allocation in 2018 for actions related to competitiveness, growth and education 
amounted to over EUR 260 million. 

44 

 
 
 
 
Flagship Initiative 4 – Increasing connectivity focuses on developing links in the region in 
transport  and  energy  in  order  to  facilitate  trade  and  foster  economic  growth.  The  actions 
foreseen  in  this  flagship  are  planning  and  investment  in  infrastructure,  as  well  as  creating 
appropriate regulatory environment for regional market integration.  

The  meetings  of  Ministers  of  Transport  in  Ljubljana  in  April  and  in  Brussels  in  December 
2018 were crucial for adopting a number of transport reform declarations, while the Podgorica 
Energy  and  Environment  Ministers  meeting  saw  the  adoption  of  a  ground-breaking  energy 
transition declaration. 

In the field of energy, the Commission is facilitating expanding the EU Energy Union to the 
Western Balkans and creating a single regulatory space under the Energy Community Treaty. 
Further progress in this field will require progress in the relevant part of the Belgrade-Pristina 
dialogue.  

A major achievement has been the signature of a joint Statement on Clean Energy Transition 
by  the  Ministers  of  Energy  and  of  Environment  of  the  Western  Balkans  at  their  meeting  in 
February 2019 in Podgorica. The Commission has made available EUR 30 million in grants 
for energy efficiency, in addition to the EUR 50 million already available under the Regional 
Energy Efficiency Facility (REEF). In 2018, the Commission supported the signature of the 
Bulgaria-Serbia gas interconnector, which will be partly financed through IPA and European 
Regional  Development  Fund.  In  the  area  of  transport,  the  Commission  has  continued  to 
support  the  implementation  of  the  Transport  Community  Treaty  and  the  operation  of  its 
secretariat.  In  particular,  the  Community  institutions  were  established  (Regional  Steering 
Committee and Ministerial Council) and the Headquarter agreement with Serbia signed, with 
an acting Director appointed in early 2019.  

The  Commission  has  facilitated  a  ministerial  declaration  aimed  at  removing  barriers  at 
borders through integrated road and rail border crossings. The declaration is based on an EU-
financed study which identified 32 priority border crossing in the region that could be subject 
to integration. Bilateral agreements between the concerned countries are now being signed in 
respect of each of the crossings.  

Following  the  adoption  of  the  relevant  ministerial  declarations  at  the  Ljubljana  TEN-T 
ministerial meeting and the Sofia summit, the Commission is also facilitating the preparation 
of a new regional rail strategy and a  road safety action plan aimed in  particular at  reducing 
road fatalities by removing blackspots. In 2018, the Commission financed 24 inspections of 
these blackspots by Connecta experts.  

In  terms  of  investment  in  infrastructure,  the  Western  Balkans  Investment  Framework 
continued to support the connectivity agenda in  2018. At he Sofia summit, the Commission 
announced  grants  for  eleven  new  transport  projects  with  an  overall  EU  grant  value  of  EUR 
192.7 million.  Since the inception of WBIF, the Commission  has provided  grant support of 
EUR 700 million to 31 priority projects through this instrument, which in turn leveraged more 
than EUR 2.4 billion EUR of external investment.  

Flagship Initiative 5 – Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans focuses on building digital 
economy  and  society  in  the  region.  The  Agenda,  based  on  a  Commission  staff  working 
document setting out the key initiatives, was launched in June 2018 at the EU’s annual Digital 
Assembly.  The  Commission  has  also  set  up  information  and  communications  technology 
(ICT) dialogues with the Western Balkan partners, including visits by the Commissioner for 
Digital Economy and Society to most capitals in the region. 

45 

 
 
 
 
The Commission has also provided intensive support to the negotiations on a new Regional 
Roaming  Agreement,  leading  to  the  abolition  of  intra-regional  roaming  charges  across  the 
Western Balkans. This was adopted at the Digital Ministerial meeting in April 2019 and will 
enter into force in July 2019.  

The Commission has earmarked EUR 30 million under the WBIF for technical assistance in 
preparation  for  broadband  connectivity  investments  and  a  further  EUR  8  million  for 
a regional cybersecurity building initiative.  

The  EU  is  also  working  to  open  up  access  of  the  Western  Balkans  partners  to  various 
European  forums  and  groups.  In  particular,  the  partners  have  been  included  as  observers  in 
the  European  Regulators  Group  for  Audio-visual  Media  Services  (ERGA)  and  the  Digital 
Single  Market  High  Level  Group  (DSM  HLG).  They  were  also  invited  as  observers  in  the 
Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). 

Finally,  the  Commission  is  involving  the  partners  in  various  Community  initiatives  in  the 
field  of  digital  skills,  eGovernment  and  eHealth.  These  include  Broadband  Competence 
Office network, Digital Opportunity Traineeship scheme, EU Code Week ambassadors ISA2 
programme,  “eHealth  network”,  European  Artificial  Intelligence  Alliance  and  the  EU 
Blockchain Observatory & Forum.  

The total  IPA  allocation in  2018 for actions related to  connectivity in  transport, energy  and 
the digital sector amounted to EUR 450 million.  

Flagship Initiative 6 – Supporting reconciliation and good neighbourly relations focuses 
on  fostering  sustainable  and  lasting  peace  in  the  region,  through  work  on  three  themes: 
dealing  with  the  legacy  of  the  past,  re-establishing  people-to-people  connections  between 
communities, and strengthening cooperation in the areas of mutual interest. These issues are 
systematically on the agenda of the meetings of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Western 
Balkans, as well as a series of high-level meetings on bilateral issues launched by the Austrian 
Presidency in 2018.  
The  Commission  continues  to  support  the  International  Residual  Mechanism  for  Criminal 
Tribunals and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. Together with the International Commission 
on  Missing  Persons  and  the  International  Committee  of  the  Red  Cross,  the  Commission  is 
supporting efforts to  solve the remaining cases of missing persons and address  the needs of 
their  families.  The  Commission  has  also  strengthened  its  support  to  the  establishment  of 
a regional truth commission.  

The EU provides financial assistance to the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) as 
an  important  vehicle  for  increasing  mobility  and  cooperation  among  young  people.  The 
Western  Balkans  Youth  Lab  was  launched  to  empower  young  people  to  input  into  policy 
making.  Support  has  been  increased  to  cooperation  between  cultural  and  creative  industries 
under the Creative Europe Programme.  

In  addition  to  various  multi-country  actions  supporting  regional  cooperation,  the  Cross-
Border  Cooperation  (CBC)  Programme  is  enabling  concrete  joint  community  projects  on 
issues such as natural resources management, tourism and culture. The overall EU support to 
institutional and socio-economic reforms contributes to restoring citizens’ and communities’ 
confidence and thus fostering an environment conducive to reconciliation.  

The total IPA allocation in 2018 in support of good neighbourly relations and reconciliation 
was close to EUR 80 million. 

The Commission will continue to build on the above achievements in the six flagships in the 
coming years to fully meet the commitments made in the Western Balkans Strategy. We will 

46 

 
 
 
 
continue to keep the partners and the Member States involved and informed through political 
dialogue,  regular  stocktaking  and  dedicated  working  level  meetings.  Continued  engagement 
and constructive regional cooperation of the Western Balkans partners will be crucial for the 
achievement of the ambitious objectives of the Strategy and its action plan. 

47 

 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX 4 – Key statistics 

STATISTICAL DATA (as of 29.04.2019) 

Demography 

 Note 

Montenegro 

North Macedonia 

Albania 

Serbia 

Turkey 

Bosnia and 
Herzegovina 

Kosovo * 

EU-28 

Total population (thousands) 

Share of 15-64 in total 
population (%) 

Crude rate of natural 
population change (per 1 000 
inhabitants) 
Life expectancy at birth, males 
(years)  

Life expectancy at birth, 
females (years)  

Labour market 
Economic activity rate for 
persons aged 20–64: 
proportion of the population 
aged 20–64 that is 
economically active (%) 
Economic activity rate for 
males aged 20–64: proportion 
of the male population aged 
20–64 that is economically 
active (%) 
Economic activity rate for 
females aged 20–64: 
proportion of the female 
population aged 20–64 that is 
economically active (%) 
Employment rates, aged 20–
64 (% of the population) 

Total 
Males 
Females 

2016 
622.2 

2017 
622.4 

2016 
2071.3 

2017 
2 073.7 

2016 
2 875.6 

2017 
2 876.6 

2016 
7 076.4 

2017 
7 040.3 

2016 
78 741 

2017 
79 815 

2016 
3 516.0 

67.6 

67.4 

70.2 

68.7 

68.7 

66.6 

66.3 

67.8 

68 

: 

2017 
3 509.
7 
: 

2016 
1 771.
6 
65.6p 

2017 
1 785.5 

66.8 

2016 
510 182
p 
65.3 

2017 
511 373
bp 
65.0b 

1.8 

1.5 

1.2 

0.7 

3.6 

3.0 

-5.1 

-5.5 

11.2 

10.8 

-1.8p 

-2.0 

8.4p 

8.2 

0.0p 

-0.4bp 

74.1 

73.9 

73.4 

74.1 

77.1 

77.1 

73.2 

73.1 

75.4 

75.7 

78.9 

79.2 

77.5 

77.9 

80.1 

80.1 

78.3 

78.1 

81 

81.3 

: 

: 

: 

: 

75.9p 

81.6p 

: 

: 

78.2 

78.3b 

83.6 

83.5b 

Note 
1) 

2016 
69.1 

2017 
69.3 

2016 
69.6 

2017 
70.3 

2016 
73.3e 

2017 
73.9 

2016 
70.0 

2017 
71.2 

2016 
60.9 

2017 
61.9 

2016 
58.8 

2017 
58.4 

2016 
44.0 

2017 
49.0 

2016 
77.6 

2017 
78.0 

1) 

76.7 

77.0 

83.8 

84.4 

82.5e 

84.3 

78.0 

78.8 

83.3 

83.7 

72.0 

71.3 

66.8 

75.1 

83.7 

84.1 

1) 

61.6 

61.7 

54.9 

55.7 

64.2e 

63.5 

62.0 

63.6 

38.5 

40.0 

45.3 

45.6 

20.9 

22.6 

71.4 

72.0 

57.1 
63.0 
51.3 

58.2 
65.2 
51.4 

53.3 
63.7 
42.5 

54.8 
65.6 
43.7 

62.1e 
69.4e 
55e 

63.9 
72.1 
55.6 

59.1 
66.3 
51.9 

61.5 
68.5 
54.5 

54.3 
75.5 
33.2 

55.3 
76.1 
34.4 

44.2 
56.4 
32.0 

46.6 
58.1 
35.1 

32.3 
49.9 
14.6 

34.4 
54.0 
14.6 

71.1 
76.9 
65.3 

72.2 
78.0 
66.5 

48 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Labour market, cont. 

 Note 

Montenegro 

North Macedonia 

Albania 

Serbia 

Turkey 

Bosnia and 
Herzegovina 

Kosovo * 

EU-28 

Persons aged 15-24 not in 
employment, education or 
training, % of the population in 
the age group 
Persons aged 15-29 not in 
employment, education or 
training, % of the population in 
the age group 
Employment by main sectors 
Agriculture, forestry and 
fisheries (%) 

Industry (%) 
Construction (%) 
Services (%) 
People employed in the public 
sector as a share of total 
employment, persons aged 
20–64 (%) 
People employed in the 
private sector as a share of 
total employment, persons 
aged 20–64 (%) 
Unemployment rates (% of the 
labour force) 

Total 
Males 
Females 
Youth, aged 15–24 
Long-term (>12 months) 
Average nominal monthly 
wages and salaries (EUR) 

2016 
18.4 

2017 
16.7 

2016 
24.3 

2017 
24.9 

2016 
26.9e 

2017 
25.9 

2016 
17.7 

2017 
17.2 

2016 
24.0 

2017 
24.2 

2016 
26.4 

2017 
24.3 

2016 
30.1 

2017 
27.4 

2016 
11.6 

2017 
10.9 

22.3 

21.4 

31.3 

31.1 

30e 

29.7 

22.3 

21.7 

27.8 

27.5 

31.4 

28.8 

37.3 

35.0 

14.2 

13.4 

7.7 

7.9 

16.6 

16.2 

40.2e 

38.2e 

18.6 

17.2 

19.5 

19.4 

18.0 

18.9 

4.2 

4.4 

4.3 

4.2 

9.8 
7.7 
74.8 
31.2 

9.5 
7.6 
75.0 
32.6 

23.1 
7.2 
53.1 
: 

22.5 
7.2 
54.1 
: 

12.8e 
6.5e 
40.5e 
15.6e 

12.5e 
6.9e 
42.4e 
16.4e 

20.2 
4.3 
57.0 
28.3 

21.2 
4.1 
57.5 
27.8 

19.5 
7.3 
53.7 
13.8 

19.1 
7.4 
54.1 
13.3 

22.7 
8.6 
50.8 
17.8 

22.2 
7.3 
51.6 
18.4 

18.0 
11.5 
66.3 
30.8 

17.4 
12.9 
65.3 
28.4 

17.3 
6.7 
71.7 
: 

17.3 
6.8 
71.7 
: 

2) 

2) 

47.0 

45.5 

: 

: 

84.4e 

83.6e 

71.7 

72.2 

86.2 

86.7 

82.2 

81.6 

69.2 

71.6 

: 

: 

1) 
1) 
1) 
1) 
1) 
3) 

17.8 
18.3 
17.1 
35.9 
13.4 
499 

16.1 
15.4 
16.9 
31.7 
12.4 
510 

23.7 
24.4 
22.7 
48.2 
19.2 
363 

22.4 
22.7 
21.8 
46.7 
17.4 
372 

15.2e 
15.9e 
14.4e 
36.5e 
10.1e 
397 

13.7e 
14.6e 
12.6e 
31.9e 
8.9e 
446 

15.4 
14.8 
16.2 
34.9 
10.0 
516 

13.6 
13.0 
14.4 
31.9 
8.2 
544 

10.9 
9.6 
13.6 
19.5 
2.2 
607 

10.9 
9.4 
13.9 
20.5 
2.4 
555 

25.5 
22.6 
30.2 
54.3 
21.7 
429 

20.7 
19.0 
23.3 
45.8 
17.0 
435 

27.5 
26.2 
31.7 
52.4 
18.0 
: 

30.3 
28.5 
36.4 
52.7 
21.7 
: 

8.6 
8.4 
8.8 
18.7 
4.0 
: 

7.6 
7.4 
7.9 
16.8 
3.4 
: 

49 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Education 

 Note 

Montenegro 

North Macedonia 

Albania 

Serbia 

Turkey 

Bosnia and 
Herzegovina 

Kosovo * 

EU-28 

Early leavers from education 
and training: percentage of the 
population aged 18–24 with at 
most a lower secondary 
education and not in further 
education or training (%) 
Public expenditure on 
education relative to GDP (%) 

Percentage of the population 
aged 20-24 with at most lower 
secondary education, total 

Percentage of the population 
aged 20-24 with at most lower 
secondary education, males 

Percentage of the population 
aged 20-24 with at most lower 
secondary education, females 

Percentage of the population 
aged 20-24 with upper 
secondary or post secondary 
non-tertiary education, total 
Percentage of the population 
aged 20-24 with upper 
secondary or post secondary 
non-tertiary education, males 
Percentage of the population 
aged 20-24 with upper 
secondary or post secondary 
non-tertiary education, 
females 
Percentage of the population 
aged 30-34 with tertiary 
education, total 
Percentage of the population 
aged 30-34 with tertiary 
education, males 
Percentage of the population 
aged 30-34 with tertiary 
education, females 

2016 
5.5 

2017 
5.4 

2016 
9.9 

2017 
8.5 

2016 
19.6e 

2017 
19.6 

2016 
7.0 

2017 
6.2 

2016 
34.3 

2017 
32.5 

2016 
4.9 

2017 
5.1 

2016 
12.7 

2017 
12.2 

2016 
10.7 

2017 
10.6 

: 

: 

: 

: 

3.1p 

3.1p 

6.8 

4.9 

12.0 

9.3 

5.8 

4.9 

10.9 

8.8 

7.9 

4.9 

13.1 

9.8 

82.2 

86.9 

77.2 

80.3 

86.9 

90.6 

82.5 

83.7 

77.2 

82.9 

71.8 

76.7 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

3.6 

7.8 

3.7 

4.7 

4.2 

: 

: 

4.6 

4.4 

: 

: 

6.8 

43.9 

42.8 

5.8u 

6.1u 

14.6 

13.8 

16.8 

16.6 

8.6 

7.3 

44.2 

42.9 

5.5u 

6.1u 

12.5 

12.8 

19.1 

19.1 

7.0 

6.3 

43.7 

42.7 

6.3u 

6.2u 

17.0 

14.9 

14.4 

14.1 

84.9 

85.0 

35.7 

36.1 

86.6 

86.9 

70.5 

70.8 

65.3 

65.1 

86.3 

86.3 

38.3 

39.4 

89.0 

89.4 

74.5 

74.2 

66.1 

65.8 

83.3 

83.5 

33.3 

32.9 

83.7 

84.0 

66.0 

66.9 

64.4 

64.4 

33.9 

34.0 

29.1 

30.5 

20.9e 

23.5e 

29.9 

31.4 

26.5 

27.3 

23.1 

23.8 

19.1 

21.8 

39.0 

39.8 

31.8 

30.0 

24.5 

24.6 

18.0e 

21.1e 

24.7 

25.4 

28.3 

28.6 

16.6u 

19.4 

18.9 

22.4 

34.3 

34.8 

35.9 

37.7 

33.8 

36.8 

23.9e 

26.0e 

35.3 

37.6 

24.6 

26.0 

29.4 

28.4 

19.4 

21.2 

43.8 

44.8 

50 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
National accounts 

 Note 

Montenegro 

North Macedonia 

Albania 

Serbia 

Turkey 

Bosnia and 
Herzegovina 

Kosovo * 

EU-28 

2016 

2017 

2016 

2017 

2016 

2017 

2016 

2017 

2016 

2017 

2016 

2017 

2016 

2017 

2016 

2017 

Gross domestic product 
In current prices (EUR billion) 
Per capita (EUR) 
In purchasing power 
standards (PPS) per capita 

In purchasing power 
standards (PPS) per capita, 
relative to the EU average 
(EU-28 = 100) 
Real (volume) annual rate of 
change, compared with the 
previous year (%) 

Gross value added by main 
sectors 
Agriculture, forestry and 
fisheries (%) 

Industry (%) 
Construction (%) 
Services (%) 

Balance of payments 
Net (inward - outward) foreign 
direct investment (FDI) (million 
euro) 
Net (inward - outward) foreign 
direct investment (FDI) (% of 
GDP) 
Net (inward - outward) foreign 
direct investment (FDI) in 
relation to EU-28 (million euro) 

Net (inward - outward) foreign 
direct investment (FDI) in 
relation to EU-28 (% of GDP) 

4.0 
6 400 
13 000 

4.3 
6 900 
13 700 

9.7p 
4 700e 
10 800e 

10.0p 
4 800p 
10 800
p 

10.7 
3 700 
8 600 

11.6p 
4 000p 
9 100p 

36.7 
5 200 
11 400 

39.2 
5 600 
11 600 

780.2 
9 800 
19 200 

753.9 
9 400 
19 900 

15.3 
4 400 
9 000 

: 
4 700 
9 500 

6.1 
3 400 
: 

6.4 
3 600 
: 

14 958.3  15 382.6 
30 000 
29 300 
30 000 
29 300 

44 

46 

37e 

36p 

30 

30p 

39 

39 

65 

66 

31 

32 

: 

: 

- 

- 

2.9 

4.7 

2.8 

0.2p 

3.3 

3.8p 

3.3 

2.0 

3.2 

7.4 

3.1 

9.0 

8.4 

10.6 

9.1p 

22.6 

21.8p 

8.2 

7.3 

7.0 

6.9 

7.5 

12.2 
6.7 
72.1 

11.2 
8.2 
72.2 

19.7 
8.0 
61.7 

20.6p 
7.2p 
63.1p 

14.0 
10.2 
53.2 

12.8p 
10.5p 
54.9p 

26.3 
4.7 
60.8 

26.5 
5.0 
61.2 

22.3 
9.7 
61.0 

23.2 
9.7 
60.2 

22.6 
4.6 
65.3 

: 

: 

: 
: 
: 

4.1 

4.2 

2.0 

2.4 

13.0 

11.4 

1.6 

1.7 

21.5 
8.1 
57.4 

21.8 
9.9 
56.9 

19.5 
5.3 
73.6 

19.7 
5.4 
73.2 

371.6 

484.3 

316.9 

180.0 

936.5 

993.8 

1 899.2 

2 418.1 

9 211.3 

7 277.2 

256.8 

330.1 

177.2 

212.0 

30 664.7 

-
72 791.5 

9.4 

11.3 

3.3 

1.8p 

8.7p 

8.6 

5.2 

6.2 

1.2 

1.0 

1.7 

: 

2.9 

3.3 

0.2 

-0.5 

-25.6 

174.1 

199.1 

100.2 

274.7 

-0.6 

4.0 

2.1 

1.0p 

2.6 

: 

: 

1 304.4 

1 756.7 

3 166.7 

1 786.0 

214.9 

217.0 

15.6 

107.3 

3.6 

4.5 

0.4 

0.2 

1.4 

0.3 

1.7 

- 

- 

- 

- 

: 

: 

11.4 

11.8 

0.1 

0.1 

Remittances as % of GDP 

4.8 

4.7 

2.0 

1.9p 

5.7p 

5.5 

7.3 

7.6 

0.1 

0.0 

8.2 

51 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
External trade in goods 

 Note 

Montenegro 

North Macedonia 

Albania 

Serbia 

Turkey 

Bosnia and 
Herzegovina 

Kosovo * 

EU-28 

Share of exports to EU-28 
countries in value of total 
exports (%) 
Share of imports from EU-28 
countries in value of total 
imports (%) 
Trade balance (EUR million) 
International trade in goods 
and services relative to GDP 

Imports (% of GDP) 
Exports (% of GDP) 

Public finance 
** General government 
surplus (+) / deficit (–) (% of 
GDP) 
** General government debt 
(% of GDP) 

Financial indicators 
Annual change in consumer 
prices (%) 

**Private debt, consolidated, 
relative to GDP (%) 

Total external debt, relative to 
GDP (%) 

Total debt in foreign currency, 
relative to GDP (%) 

Lending interest rate (one 
year), per annum (%) 

Deposit interest rate (one 
year), per annum (%) 

Value of reserve assets 
(including gold) (million euro) 

International reserves - 
equivalence in months of 
imports 

2016 
37.4 

2017 
34.8 

2016 
80.0 

2017 
81.1 

2016 
77.9 

2017 
77.2 

2016 
67.6 

2017 
67.6 

2016 
47.9 

2017 
47.0 

2016 
71.3 

2017 
71.2 

2016 
22.6 

2017 
24.9 

2016 
- 

2017 
- 

48.2 

47.4 

61.9 

62.9 

63.1 

61.7 

58.7 

58.9 

39.0 

36.4 

61.9 

60.9 

43.1 

43.1 

- 

- 

-1 736 

-1 932 

-1 786 

-1 818 

-2 399 

-2 622 

-2 483 

-3 194 

-50 676 

-67 771 

-3 448 

-3 646 

-2 480 

-2 669 

37 238 

21 099 

63.1 
40.6 

2016 
-2.8 

64.5 
41.1 

2017 
-5.6 

65.5 
50.7 

2016 
-2.7 

69.2p 
55.4p 

2017 
-2.7 

45.8 
29.0 

2016 
-1.8 

46.6p 
31.6p 

2017 
-2.0 

53.4 
48.6 

2016 
-1.2 

57.1 
50.5 

2017 
1.1 

24.9 
22.0 

2016 
-1.1 

29.3 
24.8 

2017 
-2.8 

52.3 
35.4 

2016 
1.2 

: 
: 

50.9 
23.7 

2017 
2.6 

2016 
: 

52.5 
26.7 

2017 
: 

40.4 
43.9 

2016 
-1.7 

42.0 
45.7 

2017 
-1.0 

Note 

64.4 

64.2 

39.9 

39.5 

68.6 

66.8 

68.8 

58.7 

28.3 

28.3 

40.5 

36.1 

14.6e 

16.6e 

83.4 

81.7 

Note 
4) 

2016 
0.1 

2017 
2.8 

2016 
0.2 

2017 
2.1 

2016 
1.5 

2017 
3.3 

2016 
1.3 

2017 
3.3 

2016 
7.7 

2017 
11.1 

2016 
-1.1 

2017 
1.2 

2016 
0.3 

2017 
1.5 

2016 
0.2 

2017 
1.7 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

84.8 

85.1 

84.5 

83.3 

: 

: 

141.9 

140.3 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

5) 

6) 

7) 

8) 

74.7 

73.6p 

73.4p 

68.7 

72.1 

65.3 

47.4 

53.4 

: 

: 

73.5 

68.7 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

33.2 

32.6 

: 

: 

7.45 

6.81 

4.25 

3.75 

5.89 

5.98 

5.50 

5.00 

15.79 

18.12 

4.97 

3.88 

7.47 

6.83 

0.93 

0.69 

0.25 

0.25 

0.80 

0.75 

2.50 

2.00 

10.33 

13.53 

0.09 

0.06 

1.01 

1.04 

803.0 

897.7 

2 613.4 

2 336.3 

2 945.0 

2 995.9 

10 204.6  9 961.6 

95 863.
2 

95 361.6 

4 873.2 

3.9 

3.9 

4.9 

4.0 

7.2 

6.7 

6.2 

5.4 

6.0 

5.2 

7.3 

5 397.
5 

7.2 

605.1 

683.4 

2.3 

2.4 

52 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Business 

 Note 

Montenegro 

North Macedonia 

Albania 

Serbia 

Turkey 

Bosnia and 
Herzegovina 

Kosovo * 

EU-28 

Industrial production index 
(2010 = 100) 

Infrastructure 
Density of railway network 
(lines in operation per 
thousand km²) 
Length of motorways 
(kilometres) 

Energy 
Net energy imports in relation 
to GDP 

2016 
84.4s 

2017 
81.8s 

2016 
122.0 

2017 
122.2 

2016 
143.8 

2017 
142.9 

2016 
111.7 

2017 
115.8 

2016 
126.3 

2017 
134.3 

2016 
112.0 

2017 
115.5 

2016 
: 

2017 
: 

2016 
105.6 

2017 
109.1s 

Note 
9) 

2016 
18.4 

2017 
18.4 

2016 
27.4 

2017 
27.4 

2016 
12.2 

2017 
12.2 

2016 
48.6 

2017 
48.5 

2016 
13.2 

2017 
13.3 

2016 
20.0 

2017 
20.0 

2016 
30.9 

2017 
30.9 

2016 
: 

2017 
: 

0 

0 

259 

259 

: 

: 

741 

963 

2542 

2657 

163 

172 

98 

108 

: 

: 

Note 

2016 
3.4 

2017 
4.9 

2016 
5.2 

2017 
5.9 

2016 
1.3 

2017 
2.5 

2016 
3.4 

2017 
4.3 

2016 
1.0 

2017 
1.5 

2016 
4.3 

2017 
: 

2016 
4.1 

2017 
5.4 

2016 
1.3 

2017 
1.5 

53 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
: = not available 
b = break in series 
e = estimated value 
p = provisional 
s = Eurostat estimate/calculation 
u = low reliability 
- = not applicable 

* = This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence. 
** = The government deficit and debt data of enlargement countries are published on an "as is" basis and without any assurance as regards their quality and adherence to ESA rules. 

Footnotes: 

1)  Turkey: unemployment based on 4 weeks criterion + using only active jobs search methods. 
2)  Bosnia and Herzegovina: the public sector includes NACE Rev. 2 Sections O, P and Q while the private sector includes other NACE Sections. Montenegro: excludes NGOs; 

data refer to number of employees (in private or public sectors) as a share of the total number of persons employed. 

3)  Albania: public sector. Bosnia and Herzegovina: net earnings. Serbia: wages and salaries paid to employees of legal entities and of unincorporated enterprises. 
4)  Harmonised index of consumer prices except for Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
5)  Bosnia and Herzegovina: data for monetary financial institutions. 
6)  Albania: external debt (including FDI). 
7)  Albania: average weighted rate applied to new 12-month loans over the respective month, on 12-month maturity. Montenegro: weighted average effective interest rate, 
outstanding amounts, annual. North Macedonia: end of year (31 December). Bosnia and Herzegovina: short-term lending rates in national currency to non-financial 
corporations (weighted average). 

8)  Albania: deposit interest rate represents the average weighted rate for newly accepted deposits over the respective month, on 12-month maturity. Montenegro: weighted 

average effective interest rate, outstanding amounts, annual. North Macedonia: end of year (31 December). Turkey: overnight deposit facility. Bosnia and Herzegovina: 
demand deposit rates in national currency of households (weighted average). 

9)  Serbia: based on total area rather than land area. 

54