Balkan 'best practices': een Europese toekomst? (en)

"South-East Europe has left its past behind it, and is steadfastly approaching the common European family", said EP President Hans-Gert Pöttering i at the opening of the Joint Parliamentary Meeting on the Western Balkans on Monday. This event brought together MEPs and parliamentarians from EU Member States and the countries of the Western Balkans to share experiences on EU integration and debate economic, security, and justice issues.

"Knowledge comes through contacts, contacts build trust, and trust is indispensable for common action," the President said. "Parliamentary work on EU integration, which affects millions of citizens, is crucial to its legitimacy", he added. The meeting's co-chair, Slovenian National Assembly President France Cukjati, noted that recent talks about EU membership had been "very successful", and that all the parliamentarians from the region present "want to bring about improvements in a region that had deteriorated" in the recent past.

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn i expressed his satisfaction that this meeting was "not a one-off event", and reminded members that the role of parliaments in the enlargement process was important, especially in communicating its benefits to citizens. Speaking for the EU Presidency, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel reiterated that "the objective is to have all of the Western Balkans in the EU", while Erhard Busek, Special Coordinator for the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, said "the region is finally taking responsibility for itself, which heralds a new age", after centuries of outside powers deciding upon its fate.

Accession and access: MEPs share their views

The two biggest topics of the first plenary session debate were the future of EU enlargement and visa liberalisation. On the former, Hannes Swoboda (PES, AT), said "we won't create waiting rooms, or secondary paths" beside the accession negotiations. Lena Ek (ALDE, SE), said she wanted to "dispel this myth that the EP is becoming increasingly sceptical of enlargements." Gisela Kallenbach (Greens/EFA, DE), added that the debate about the EU's "integration capacity" had threatened to postpone the entry of the Western Balkans, but that this danger has now been overcome.

On the question of free access to the EU's territory for nationals of the Western Balkans, many speakers noted the urgency of reforming visa rules. "Visa liberalisation is essential for the young generation not to feel isolated," said Joseph Daul (EPP-ED, FR), echoing almost all speakers from the Western Balkans, who warned that difficulties in entering EU Member States could lead to a generation of citizens who have less opportunities for European travel than their parents did during communist times.

Hopes for Serbia and Kosovo

The meeting was also an occasion for Parliamentarians from Serbia and Kosovo to air their views about their differences. Jakup Krasniqi, President of the Parliament of Kosovo, said the recent declaration of independence "will help peace and stability in the region", noting that the newly-passed legislation is "based on the protection of minorities". Serbian Parliament Speaker Oliver Dulic said he had high hopes that "very soon we will have a pro-European government in Serbia, favouring integration", but warned that "Kosovo is not a new country", and called on EU institutions to continue to deal with the province accordingly, "until a final status agreement has been reached".

The meeting broke up into three different working groups for the rest of the evening, in order to prepare reports, and reconvened in plenary session on Tuesday morning. President Pöttering closed the session by saying that the EU can only "offer help towards self-help" in the Balkans, and that it is now up to the countries of the region to make the necessary efforts to meet accession criteria. "The key is to have respect for one another", he concluded.

26/05/2008

In the chair: : Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP-ED, DE)

France Cukjati (Slovenian National Assembly President)