This is unfortunate fact that we are the crossroad to the West and also to the East.
On Jan 28, 2008 3:29 AM, Boba <[Е-ПОШТА ЗАШТИЋЕНА]> wrote: > > > > > 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 > [Е-ПОШТА > ЗАШТИЋЕНА] > > Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the > boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail. Click on Options in Mail and switch to > New Mail today or register for free at http://mail.yahoo.ca > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > >
