|
No. 99/05
November 9, 2005
EUROPEAN COMMISSION SETS OUT ROAD MAP FOR FUTURE EU ENLARGEMENT
Today the European Commission adopted an overall
enlargement
strategy for the candidate countries,
Croatia and
Turkey,
and for the potential candidate countries in the
Western
Balkans. This strategy is based on three principles:
consolidating the EU's commitments on enlargement,
applying fair and rigorous conditionality and
communicating enlargement better.
Croatia and Turkey are candidate countries and the
Western Balkans have a clear European perspective. The
European Union will stand by its commitments once the
countries fulfill the strict
conditions for accession. At
the same time, the EU has to communicate better the
objectives and the challenges of the accession process.
 Presenting the enlargement strategy
Olli Rehn
[pictured left],
Commissioner for
Enlargement said: “A carefully managed
enlargement process is one of the EU’s most powerful and
most successful policy tools. The pull of the EU helps
the democratic and economic transformation of countries.
All European citizens benefit from having neighbors
that are stable democracies and prosperous market
economies. The EU cannot abandon its responsibilities.
But the pace of enlargement also has to take into
consideration the EU’s absorption capacity.”
The EU must remain rigorous in demanding fulfillment of
its criteria, but fair in duly rewarding progress.
Aspirant countries can only proceed from one stage of
the process to the next once they have met the
conditions for that stage. The Commission will assist
the countries and monitor their progress.
The EU’s relations with Croatia and Turkey entered into
a new phase on 3 October, when accession negotiations
were opened. Negotiations will be based on the country’s
own merits and their pace will depend on the country's
progress in meeting the requirements for membership.
For the other countries of the Western Balkans, the
Commission proposes a road map for realizing their
European perspectives, setting out the stages and
conditions attached to each stage. Establishing a
Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the
EU is a fundamental step in this process.
Albania has
made sufficient overall progress to establish
implementation capacity, paving the way for concluding
negotiations on such an agreement.
Serbia and Montenegro
have just opened SAA negotiations and
Bosnia and
Herzegovina will do so shortly.
A country’s satisfactory track-record in implementing
its SAA obligations (including the application of its
trade-related provisions in the form of an Interim
Agreement) will be an essential element for the EU to
consider any membership application. Based on a
Commission opinion, the EU may grant a country the
status of candidate. The Commission recommends that the
Council grant the status of candidate country to the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
Candidate status is a political recognition of a closer
relationship with the EU, but it does not automatically
mean that a country can start negotiations for EU
membership. To do so, the country needs to reach a
sufficient degree of general compliance with the
membership criteria. In particular, the country needs to
meet the political criteria, including full co-operation
with the International Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia where relevant.
Kosovo's[1] further progress towards the EU is also part
of the enlargement strategy. European integration is
essential to achieve a sustainable settlement on the
status of Kosovo that reinforces the security and
stability of the region.
For more information and the following documents, please
see:
http://www.eurunion.org/newsweb/HotTopics.htm#enlarge
-
The enlargement package 2005 (MEMO/05/412);
-
Key findings of the 2005 Progress Reports on Croatia
and Turkey (MEMO/05/411);
-
Key findings of the 2005 Progress Reports on Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro and Kosovo
(MEMO/05/410);
-
The Commission recommends candidate status for the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (IP/05/1391).
[1] governed under UN Security Council
Resolution 1244
Further Contact Information
Press and Media Relations
Delegation of the European Commission
2300 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.eurunion.org/PressRoom
Tel: 202-862-9552
Fax: 202-429-1766
|
