ZAGREB, May 21 (Hina) - The European Commission (EC) on Wednesday adopted a new proposal for partnership relations between the European Union and the Western Balkans whose purpose is to better assist the region in its bids to draw
closer to the European Union.
ZAGREB, May 21 (Hina) - The European Commission (EC) on Wednesday
adopted a new proposal for partnership relations between the
European Union and the Western Balkans whose purpose is to better
assist the region in its bids to draw closer to the European Union.
#L#
The proposal, which was also published on the EC's web site, is to be
adopted by the European Union's Council and the European
Parliament.
The EC states that the Stabilisation and Association process (SAp),
the current framework for relations with the region, will remain
the cornerstone of policy towards the countries of the Western
Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro), but it
will be given a new dimension through the addition of elements that
have proved successful with candidates for EU membership.
"The map of the European Union will not be complete until the
countries of the Western Balkans are included in it. There is a
great deal of work to do: reforming the economies, standards of
governance and democracy of the region remain major challenges -
alongside the constant battle to tackle corruption and organised
crime," the Commissioner for External Relations, Chris Patten,
said, adding the EC wanted to prove to countries in the region it
really wanted to see them as its members.
The EC proposes to intensify the SAp through concrete measures:
through introducing European integration partnerships, enhanced
support for institution building, improved political cooperation,
assistance in economic development, rule of law, cooperation on
justice and home affairs, extended participation in relevant
Community programmes and enhanced regional cooperation and
democracy.
As regards enhanced support for institution building, the EC says
that the support should be increased for the Western Balkan
countries. It stresses that some of these programmes, called
"twinning programmes", have already begun in Albania and Croatia
and should be developed further.
The Technical Assistance Information Exchange Office (TAIEX), that
was set up as part of the pre-accession strategy to provide targeted
technical assistance to candidate countries on bringing their
system in line with Community legislation, should start operating
in the Western Balkans.
As regards legislation, justice and internal affairs, the EC
proposes to develop a dialogue with the countries in the region with
the aim of identifying targets against which progress can be
assessed, especially in the fight against corruption and organised
crime.
The EC further proposes extended participation in relevant
Community programmes, including education programmes, and
enhanced regional cooperation and democracy.
"The countries of the Western Balkans should be encouraged to take
ownership of the regional cooperation and will be encouraged to
develop concrete forms of collaboration in such areas as
parliamentary cooperation, refugee return, trade and investment,
energy, transport and infrastructure," concludes the EC
statement.
The EC hopes that the proposal for new relations between the EU and
Western Balkan countries would contribute to the success of the
June 21 summit of the EU and countries in the region, to take place
in Salonika.
(hina) rml sb