Hongaars EU-Voorzitterschap geeft speciale aandacht aan Westelijke Balkan (en)

The Hungarian Presidency left no stones unturned to help Western Balkan countries, said János Martonyi in Luxembourg, on 20 June 2011. The Hungarian Foreign Minister hopes that the upcoming presidencies will maintain the established close cooperation now with the Western Balkan countries.

The Hungarian Presidency has managed to keep the enlargement process on top of the EU’s agenda, underlined János Martonyi at the Western Balkans Forum, organised in Luxembourg.

Mr Martonyi stressed that the Hungarian Presidency could considerably build on the achievements of its Trio partners, when trying to create favourable circumstances for a “credible and predictable” enlargement policy. The Council had committed itself to continue the enlargement in December 2010, during the Belgian Presidency’s term, Mr Martonyi recalled. The Hungarian Presidency considers this commitment a significant achievement, especially in view of last years’ shrinking enthusiasm for enlargement, in the wake of the controversial performance of certain new members.

Upon the Hungarian Presidency’s symbolic initiative, candidate countries’ competent ministers were invited to all the informal meetings of the Council, during the last six months. With this, the Presidency wished to indicate that it considers candidate countries as future members of the Union, and hopes that the upcoming presidencies will keep up this practice and set a tradition, said the Foreign Minister.

Membership is an attainable goal

The Minister pointed out that, as President of the Council, Hungary endeavoured to help Western Balkan countries in moving one step closer to accession. At the Forum, all countries concerned thanked the Hungarian Presidency for its efforts, while Catherine Ashton i, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, thanked the Presidency for calling her attention on the Western Balkan region.

In appreciation of the results of Zagreb, Mr Martonyi said, “We can look back on Croatia as a success story, which is a clear sign for Western Balkan countries that the European perspective is an attainable goal, if backed by reforms and unrelenting efforts.” Consequently, the Presidency thinks about the results achieved in any of these countries in regional dimensions, the Minister added.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán i and President of Hungary Pál Schmitt paid several visits in the region, during the last six months. According to the Hungarian News Agency, on his visit to Sarajevo last week, the Prime Minister said that the EU needed the Western Balkan region, as Europe cannot afford to leave the energy resources and economic potentials of the area unexploited.

2011 - The year of opportunities

On the whole, János Martonyi believes that the EU’s enlargement policy is on the right track to achieve positive changes, by the end of 2011. The Minister is optimistic that Croatia and the EU will manage to conclude the accession talks in June, and with regard to Montenegro, he can see chances for it to enter into negotiations. The participants of the meeting were of the opinion that Montenegro’s accession could be the next success story after Croatia. For starting negotiations with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), thee naming dispute with Greece should first be closed, and the approximation of positions is a good sign, Mr Martonyi thinks.

The Minister also thinks there is a good chance that Serbia will be granted candidate country status, before this year is over. The participants of the Western Balkan Forum have emphasised the significance for arresting military general Ratko Mladic. Before the Forum, Mr Martonyi confirmed, should the European Commission give a positive evaluation on the country’s progress, Hungary would advocate on setting an exact date for starting accession talks, along with granting candidate country status to Serbia.

Started in Brussels on 8 March 2011, the ongoing dialogue between Belgrade and Priština also received much praise. In his contribution, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said that the parties were nearing to results. EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Štefan Füle stated that Kosovo should be offered the perspective of membership.

The participants of the Forum appreciated that Bosnian Serb Republic resigned from holding a referendum questioning the legal basis of the high representative’s decisions, which opened the door for organising the first round of structured dialogue between the EU and Bosnia-Herzegovina on 6 June.

However, the European Union has expressed concerns over the political deadlock in Albania, which evolved in the wake of the general election. Participants have highlighted, that Albania cannot make progress in integration without sacrifices and efforts, but progress is possible if it resolves internal disputes and keeps up the necessary reforms.

Background

EU Heads of State and Government had decided on creating the Western Balkan Forum back in 2003. In the framework of the Forum, Foreign Ministers of the area meet their EU counterparts.

The Forum was traditionally organised in spring every year, in parallel with the informal meeting of EU Ministers (the so-called Gymnich i meeting). This year, however, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton could not have participated in a spring meeting due to her busy agenda, which were caused by the events in Libya; so the Hungarian Presidency looked for a later date for the Forum.

Ultimately, the European External Action Service set 20 June as the date of the Forum, and the area’s European perspective, regional cooperation and the issue of elections, as the main topics of the meeting. The European External Action Service invited the competent representatives of the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The issues of the Southern Neighbourhood were also touched upon during the meeting.