[ Western Balkans and EU ]

The European Commission decided in Brussels on 9 November 2005 to recognize Macedonia as a candidate for membership. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that the decision is an example of the "EU's soft power in action." (RFE/RL Newsline, 10.11.2005)

Albania was warned by the European Commission that it still has a long way to go before it can seriously expect progress toward EU membership. Albania has already been conducting "Stabilisation and Association Agreement" (SAA) talks since February 2003. The Commission's report called on Tirana to do more to enforce its own legislation, promote media freedom, fight corruption, ensure the efficiency and independence of the judiciary, and protect property rights. Brussels also said that Albania's 2005 elections "were undertaken in a fundamentally sound manner." (RFE/RL Newsline, 10.11.2005)

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro will receive their first Brussels judgement on their reform records after entering into preliminary SAA negotiations with Brussels, a status preceding any official membership talks. Both countries recently received the OK from EU leaders to start the talks, with Belgrade starting the first round of talks on Monday (7 November 2005).

Kosova is "a core part of the EU enlargement strategy for Western Balkans", said Rehn. The upcoming discussions of the future status of Kosova "is a challenge for the entire region, and for the international community" (cf. strategy paper).

For more information see: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/report_2005/index.htm

The following map was published on 3 November 2005 in the Economist article "Approaching Europe". (NB: Although Macedonia now has candidate status, no date has been fixed yet for talks with the EU.)