http://www.guardian.co.uk/Kosovo/Story/0,,2247956,00.html
Balkans on the mend
There is no need for gloom: the region has a great chance to achieve stability
and prosperity
Olli Rehn
Monday January 28, 2008
The Guardian
People in the Balkans face a stark choice this year: their region could either
finally resolve its outstanding problems from the wars of the 1990s or fall
back into instability and extremes of nationalism. The first option would take
them forward towards stability, prosperity and European integration. But many
commentators believe the second is inevitable.
I disagree with the prophecies of doom. There is certainly a danger of
instability, at the moment when Kosovo's future status is on the point of being
resolved. But the repercussions need not be destabilising if the EU gives a
decisive and unified steer to ensure a coordinated response, as foreign
ministers meeting today should be aware.
No other international actor will be so directly affected by the outcome -
neither Russia nor the United States - and we are ready to carry our
responsibility to support stability and progress in the region. The western
Balkans has made steady if uneven progress over recent years, and the goal of
EU membership remains an important motivation to keep reforms on track.
Clearly, the region's future lies in the EU, and most people would rather get
there sooner than later.
In fact, all the countries could make faster progress along the road to Europe.
By the end of this year, I hope they will all pass through the gateway towards
candidacy for membership, by signing a stabilisation and association agreement
with the EU. Albania and Montenegro have already done so, as has the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which could soon demonstrate its readiness to
begin accession negotiations if it can maintain sufficient political will and
cross-party dialogue to drive through serious reforms.
The EU is now waiting for Bosnia and Herzegovina and for Serbia to meet the
remaining conditions to sign the agreement. I want to see both countries take a
decisive step forward, not only because it would move them closer to the EU,
but primarily for the benefit of their own citizens.
The doomsday prophecies for Bosnia and Herzegovina have so far been proven
wrong. The country's leaders made important progress last year on police
reform, with the goal of ensuring the rule of law and separating policing from
politics. There is much at stake in Serbia. The EU foreign ministers should
today give a strong signal of Serbia's European future by deciding to sign the
stabilisation and association agreement shortly. Serbia is close to full
cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia,
which is essential to allow the country to turn the page on one of the darkest
periods in its history.
Serbia's institutional capacity gives it great potential to move faster towards
the European Union. It has the chance to draw closer to qualifying for
candidate status, maybe even during the course of this year. Seldom have
citizens had as clear a choice as the Serbs do now, between a nationalist past
and a European future.
The EU is ready to welcome the citizens of Serbia into Europe, not just through
a contractual relationship with their state, but also individually. This is
demonstrated by the commission's launch of a dialogue on visa-free travel for
Serbs that will start this week. The future for the Balkans can be far from
dark. In the EU, there has never been a stronger political will to support the
people of the western Balkans in opting for European values and living
standards. But ultimately people in the region have to exercise their
democratic choice to determine their countries' future course.
ยท Olli Rehn is the European commissioner responsible for enlargement and is the
author of Europe's Next Frontiers
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