LOCAL PRESS

Dacic: Dialogue with Pristina to continue in January (RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic has stated that the dialogue with Pristina will continue in January, but a date has yet to be set. “The next round of the dialogue has not been scheduled yet. The 17^th of January is mentioned more often than the 19^th. I have not confirmed that yet because I want to know what the objective is," he told reporters after delivering an address at a conference titled “Business Conference-Serbia and the Diaspora.” Dacic believes that, regardless of all, the pressure to continue the talks few days before the beginning of the EU-Serbia inter-governmental conference, probably with the expectation that the sides will have to arrive at some agreement, is an additional burden. “When I said that the tensions and pressures will continue I had something like this in mind,” the Prime Minister said. Dacic expects that, besides new topics, the next round of talks will address those about which the agreement has already been reached. The talks will deal with the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities, judiciary, telecommunications, but also new topics that Belgrade has introduced, such as the issue of the property and position of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Dacic said.

 

Dayton brings peace and stability (RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic stated that the Republika Srpska (RS) is an example of how a political agreement, the Dayton Accord, can bring peace and stability although it was not met with citizens’ acceptance at first. Dacic congratulated in advance to the RS on its 22^nd anniversary which will be marked on 9 January, and underscored that, reviewed in the long-run, the Dayton Accord brought peace and stability. “Had it not been for the Dayton Accord, there would be no RS today,” Dacic told reporters in Belgrade’s Sava Centre. He noted that Serbia is deeply committed to the Dayton Accord and that it will nurture the best possible ties with the RS while observing the provisions of the document and respecting B&H as a state and the RS as an entity. “I hope our relations will continue improving,” Dacic said and noted that the two governments recently held a joint session and that the joint sessions are organized twice a year.

Ruzic: Serbia ready for negotiations, EU membership in 2020 (TV Pink)

Serbia is fully prepared for the start of the accession talks with the EU at the first intergovernmental conference on January 21, Minister without Portfolio in charge of EU integration Branko Ruzic said, adding that it would be perfectly realistic for Serbia to become an EU member 2020. The decision by the European Council on the accession talks start date recognizes the credibility of the Serbian government, he stated for TV Pink. According to him, this government has done what many earlier cabinets dreamt of, but in a manner which is in line with standards and values that can be implemented at the current political moment. The formal start of the talks will be the 21 January meeting where Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will present Serbia’s views concerning EU accession, while EU officials will outline what is expected of Serbia, Ruzic said. He underlined Serbia’s EU integration and the issue of Kosovo, the EU integration and the normalization of the relations between Belgrade and Pristina are two parallel processes to be intertwined at times. In terms of Kosovo, the EU wants to see normal relations and system of European values, said Ruzic.

 

Vulin: Privatization of Trepca not without Serbia (Novosti)

For years, privatization of “Trepca” has been the subject of dispute between Belgrade and Pristina because Serbia is not deviating from the position that it doesn’t recognize privatization in Kosovo and Metohija, while Serbian Minister without Portfolio in charge of Kosovo and Metohija Aleksandar Vulin says this combine can’t be privatized without talks with the Serbian side, leadership, employees and creditors. Vulin called the creditors of “Trepca” to report to the state by 31 December in order to protect their rights, and explained they can also report to the Chamber of Commerce or the working group that was formed for this. Vulin also announced that a very comprehensive inventory of property in Kosovo and Metohija has been conducted on 7000 pages, which will be presented to the public soon.

VAT abolished for northern Kosovo, again (Politika)

The Serbian Government adopted on 14 December the Regulation that again abolishes the obligation of paying value added tax (VAT) in Kosovo and Metohija. The same Regulation returns the possibility of VAT refund to all those who deliver goods to Kosovo and Metohija. Let us recall that this kind of decision was passed in 2005 for the first time, in order to be abolished in September 2011 under the explanation that non-payment of VAT in Kosovo and Metohija was the main source of enrichment of individuals. At the same time, this was also the main political argument of political leaders in Pristina that the northern part of the province is the hotbed of crime. Zoran Lazic from the Office for Kosovo and Metohija told Politika that the Regulation on re-abolishing VAT for Kosovo and Metohija is only “inimitable to the agreements in Brussels and that it is in accordance with UNSCR 1244 and the CEFTA agreement.” Asked whether this opens the possibility of smuggling, Lazic reiterated that everything is in accordance with the agreements. Borislav Stefanovic, who was in 2011 one of the main advocators of returning northern Kosovo to the Serbian tax system, told Politika that this Government decision means it wants to appease individuals in the northern part of the province. “Vulin wishes to encourage many to export goods to Kosovo, and for smuggling and other things that is produced by this kind of regulation to be transferred into Pristina’s hands now,” says Stefanovic.

 

Pantic: Vucic is coming to Kosovska Mitrovica (Politika)

Pristina, via the EU, is requesting that the Kosovo logo is on the invitation and material for the inaugural session on 24 December. Will you be re-sending the invitations?

“The Brussels agreement has precisely defined the way Kosovo will be represented. Not even all EU member states have recognized the self-declared state, and I have also respected the Albanians since I sent out the invitations in the Albanian language. It is not good that Pristina is trying through the EU to devalue our effort and devotion for implementing the agreement, but also trying in every way to undermine the Brussels agreement in order to prolong the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities. I will not send new invitations, I expect all deputies, 19 totally in the local assembly, to give an asseveration, neutral in status, on 24 December.”

The last talks were conducted with Oliver Ivanovic on Saturday, and you said this was the most realistic coalition. What is Ivanovic requesting, and what are you offering him?

“The most realistic coalition is the one with Ivanovic and we are close to reaching an agreement. Ivanovic and I have become closer in the interest of all citizens, we have the same stands on running the town and we just need to agree on small details. With the coalition agreement, which is already certain, we need to confirm who will be the president of the municipal assembly.”

Will you also talk with the representatives of Albanians, Bosniaks and the Serb from the ranks of the Liberals, who supported you to the surprise of many?

“Yes, I will have talks with them.”

Agim Deva, the mayoral candidate coming from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, recently told Politika that a coalition between you and Oliver Ivanovic is unrealistic. According to him, such authority will not function more than three months.

“We are forming a coalition for the entire four-year mandate. I don’t even want to think what may happen during this period.”

Can Agim Deva expect some of the leading posts in the municipality of North Mitrovica and what post would you offer him?

“As the mayor I have the right to also appoint a deputy mayor for minorities, and an Albanian or Bosniak, or anyone from the ranks of minorities, can be appointed to this post.”

Considering the Kosovo laws, is it true that you will dismiss many employees in the municipality?

“That is not true, because nobody who is on the Serbian budget will be dismissed. With the budget envisaged for next year, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija will have much more funds than in the previous year.”

How will you return the trust of citizens, since you have thrown all your political activities aimed at rejecting the Brussels agreement and its implementation by accepting to turn out for the elections?

“I am sure that the citizens have already realized that by taking part in the elections I wished to save Kosovska Mitrovica and its residents from forced integration into an independent Kosovo. It is clear to everybody in the town that if we had missed this chance, the international community would have accepted the elected mayor. I am sure that the residents also know that an Albanian mayor would not have been inclined to the Serbs, and that any other option would not have favored the Serbs, Serbia or official Belgrade, but Pristina.”

Will Aleksandar Vucic visit Kosovska Mitrovica?

“Yes, he is certainly coming for one of the following holidays.”

 

Home political scene (Radio Serbia)

The decision made on Serbia’s EU accession negotiations start date as an event of very high specific gravity was in a way a signal for very lively activities in political parties both those presented in public as well as the internal ones, which were subjects of mere speculation.

It seems quite clear that the spring will see early parliamentary elections, in a situation where it depends solely on the ruling parties or more specifically, on the most powerful among them, the Serbian Progressive Party. The fact that a date was set for the formal start of Serbia’s EU accession talks seems to have launched some kind of election campaign. The Progressives are intensively working on revamping their image, while, due to certain elections in Belgrade, the Democrats already started the party mobilization a few months ago, and the LDP has gone public with the draft proposal on common priorities after the election in 2014, addressed primarily to those who are in a position to decide on the formation of government. Those saying that elections are a waste of time and a waste of money are outnumbered when there is no respectable force that would change anything in the rhythm of negotiations with the EU. Whoever wins the elections will not change the country’s strategic objectives. The campaign will definitely focus only on the extremely difficult economic situation because the betterment stemming from the negotiations with the EU cannot be expected so soon. Serbia will face further painful cuts, especially when it comes to the public sector, as it is no secret that a large number of people will lose their jobs in the inevitable process. Party programs should confront mainly in regard to creation of new and economically sustainable jobs. Citizens can be no longer mobilized by any political objectives in the situation where people struggle with basic amenities. The results of the local elections in three of quite different sizes and profiles therefore speak of the mood of the citizens and even more of their discontent. The impression is that they voted only “globally” and that local problems had no significant impact on the results. What all political actors will face is certainly a struggle to eliminate the trend of an increasing number of abstainers in the elections. Any victory with a turnout of less than 50% would be legal, but also a big problem in terms of legitimacy before the forthcoming painful cuts. Therefore, realignment on the political scene and politically turbulent winter are only to be expected.

 

Davenport: Normalization does not mean recognition (B92)

“According to the decision of the European Council in June and according to the new decision from last week, which is the united position of the European Union, normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina is expected, and it is about a comprehensive normalization,” the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport told TV B92 on Monday. “A legally binding agreement at the end of the process is expected from Serbia, which, is supported both by the Serbian government and the Kosovo one in Pristina. Everyone is aware of their obligations and they see that normalization is in their own interest,” said Davenport. Asked whether there was a demand for Serbia to abolish its courts in Kosovo, Davenport said that there were two issues: the judicial reform in Serbia, which is also one of the highest priorities for the European Union and the Serbian government, and strengthening of independent institutions that play a role in these reforms. “The obligation of both sides within the Brussels agreement is that there is integration in some institutions, including the police and judiciary. However, there has not yet been an agreement, but the principle is clear, there must be full integration,” said Davenport.
As for the parliamentary elections in Kosovo that Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic spoke about after the local elections, and expectations the EU has of Belgrade, Davenport said that in the past year there have been great changes and breakthroughs. “It seems to me it is a great achievement that there have been more than twenty meetings between Prime Ministers Dacic and Thaqi, and there have been results that are in favor of both sides. The Brussels agreement happened on 19 April and there has been implementation of the agreement. Therefore, implementation is possible. As parliamentary elections will be held in Kosovo next year, Dacic made it clear that he wants to encourage voters to vote, I think that’s the right approach,” he added. Regarding the 35 issues that need to be addressed - i.e., the chapters to be opened and closed successfully in negotiations with the EU - Davenport stated that all the chapters in this process were important for Serbia, that all should be successfully completed, and that the chapters at the very beginning of the negotiations concern the rule of law, courts and the judiciary. “This will be a topic of continuing negotiations over the coming years. The rule of law, justice, fundamental freedoms, fighting corruption and discrimination, according to our experience these chapters should be immediately addressed, as they are among the largest and most difficult in the process. Experience shows that Chapter 27, environmental protection, is also of great importance, due to extensive laws to be introduced,” Davenport said, adding that these topics also concerned other candidate countries. Speaking about the possible suspension of visa liberalization, he commented on the urgent problem of false asylum seekers, acknowledging that there was great concern in the EU. The European diplomat said there was the immediate need to address these issues without delay, that the EU had developed an action plan with the Serbian government, and that criminals who are encouraging people to illegally enter the EU countries are involved in these processes. He further stated that it was necessary to jointly confront this phenomenon, but also to strive to improve the living conditions in the regions and parts of Serbia where there were major problems. Explaining what Serbia can expect in the coming period, Davenport said that this would be the formal beginning of negotiations, “while we have already started technical talks, simultaneously continuing the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.” “Next year we continue technical inspections and it will last until the beginning of 2015, and in the meantime, we want to continue work together with the Serbian government regarding the two first chapters for which we finished screening.” Davenport added that he wanted to praise the role of parliament and civil society in European integration, as well as contributions of the citizens, which, as he said, matter. Speaking about the first inter-governmental conference, Davenport explained that this would be the first official opportunity for the Serbian government to present its plans for the implementation of the legislative system to all EU members, but also for members to present their priorities in this process. “Members have a vital role during the whole process,” noted the head of the European delegation in Serbia. Commenting on surveys that show oscillations in support of the citizens for EU integrations, Davenport mentioned as an example a recent research, which, he said, showed support for EU membership jump from 31 to 51 percent. “Some increase is there, the results are associated with certain events. When there was the liberalization of the visa regime, support grew to 70 percent. Such fluctuations are normal in all candidate countries,” he assessed. Talking about the problems and challenges related to the South Stream pipeline, Davenport said he believed that this problem does not concern energy efficiency, but a bigger problem, that of competition. “Serbia has its obligations toward the Energy Community Treaty and the EU. The challenge is for that agreement to be fully in compliance with these obligations. I am optimistic that this will happen,” said Davenport.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik: Criticisms of entities about Elektroprijenos unsubstantiated (Oslobodjenje)

The Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik reiterated that the criticisms of the entities, which as shareholders will divide Elektroprijenos’s profit, are unsubstantiated, and stresses that it is evident that in this certain representatives of the international community and opposition have joined one another. “There are too many speculators in the international community around this,” said Dodik in a statement to reporters in Banja Luka. He points out that the clamor going on connected with statements that the entities will pay themselves dividends from part of the profits is baseless. “Some of those who have economic education surprise me, those who are trying to be analysts, and they are now raising a ruckus around this process,” said Dodik, noting that the fact is that the Elektroprijenos shareholders are the entities, and they decided the fate of the company and there is nothing controversial in this. “The shareholders agreed to enter the adoption of a new law for the process of administering funds,” said Dodik, noting that the accounts of the company remain with 200 million KM for investments, after which the shareholders will divide the 100 million KM. A new administration, he says, is awaited to create a business plan, which thus far has not been possible to do, because as he says, there was enough destruction and attempts to place funds through participation in capital. He noted that the RS will receive its part of the funds that belongs to it in accordance with participation in capital, and this was the principle by which they earlier managed it, and on which the entity insisted.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Ashton Eyes Fresh Serbia-Kosovo Deal in Final Year (Wall Street Journal, by Laurence Norman, 20 December 2013)

With less than a year left in office, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton sees Serbia and Kosovo moving toward a second ground-breaking agreement, further warming ties between the two former foes.

Baroness Ashton, who has chaired months of sometimes-grueling Serbian-Kosovo talks but has rarely spoken in depth about them, said the next step is up to Belgrade and Pristina. But if they are ready to negotiate on a fresh set of issues, so is she, she told a small group of reporters this week.

“They know that I have a shelf-life and therefore…if they want me, let’s get it done,” she said. The term of the current European Commission ends on Oct. 31, 2014.

In April, EU-led reconciliation talks produced a historic agreement that offered Kosovo’s Serbian minority considerable political autonomy in exchange for acknowledging Pristina’s ultimate authority over all police, judicial and government institutions in Kosovo.

Since then, Kosovo has held largely successful elections–including in Serb-dominated areas of the country–and many of the steps envisioned by the accord have been completed.

Recognizing those efforts, EU governments agreed Tuesday to start accession with Serbia on January 21. The EU also began negotiations on a pre-accession economic and political agreement with Kosovo in October.

Serbia has vowed never to recognize Kosvo, its former province which declared independence in 2008 and has formal ties with 23 of the EU’s 28 member states. Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic have, however, identified further issues both want to tackle.

These include tensions over property rights of people displaced during the Kosovo conflict, as well as  the country’s participation in sports tournaments and regional forums.  EU officials say they there could also be fresh efforts to identify thousands of people listed as missing from the 1998-99 Kosovo war that ended when a North Atlantic Treaty Organization bombing campaign ousted Serb troops from Kosovo to stop the large-scale expulsion of ethnic Albanians.

Baroness Ashton said that when she next meets the two prime ministers in January, she will ask them how they wish to proceed.

“It is absolutely up to them. One of the things that we have always said…is that they can move this process as far and as fast as they wish,” she said in her sixth-floor Brussels office, where she’s held about 20 meetings with the prime ministers since September 2012.  “But they have both talked at different times about some of the issues that they would like to solve…What has been absolutely clear is that…they want to carry on this process.”

Baroness Ashton, who also played a key role in the negotiations that produced last month’s confidence-building nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers, said the format of April’s Kosovo accord, where the prime ministers shuttled back and forth to Brussels for talks and the EU has overseen implementation, worked well.

“They have found it a good way of being able to operate and they found this a good venue,” she said. “So long as they want to do this, we will.”

For now, she said, the EU’s priority is to see the April deal fully implemented. Many issues, including a conflict over how to integrate ethnic Serb courts and judges into Kosovo’s legal system, still remain.

Still, the EU’s foreign policy chief, whose 2013 Kosovo and Iran success have helped win over some of her early critics, said the advances made by the two sides may have locked in the reconciliation process.

She believes April’s accord will provide both communities with enough institutional “certainty” to gradually transform everyday life in Kosovo, where ethnic tensions remain high. The accord covers issues like the ethnic makeup of the police force and the provision of pensions and services by local authorities in the Serb-dominated north of the country.

Baroness Ashton calls Mr Thaci, an ex-leader of Kosovo’s Liberation Army and Mr. Dacic, a spokesman for Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic during the Kosovo conflict, statesmen who have proven “a capcity beyond their own political interest to think about the future.” She says while the two are tough “direct” negotiators, they have grown “hugely respectful of each other.”

Still she thinks the process is now less at risk of being “derailed” by political changes in Serbia and Kosovo.

Optimistic words, perhaps. But can she envisage a time when Serbia does the currently unthinkable and recognizes Kosovo? Her answer: “The future is the future and I don’t know.”

 

UK no longer advocates for EU enlargement (EurActiv, 21 December 2013)

The UK used to be the greatest advocate of EU enlargement. But now its prime minister David Cameron wants to introduce new control mechanisms vis-à-vis future EU member countries. EurActiv Serbia contributed to this article.

The United Kingdom, the historical advocate of an active EU enlargement policy, including towards Turkey, has shown a change of tone at yesterday's EU summit (20 December).

Even though he still sees enlargement as 'one of the EU’s greatest strengths', Cameron, who has called for a restriction on the EU’s freedom of movement principle ahead of the lifting of labour restrictions for Romanians and Bulgarians on 1 January 2014, wants to find new control mechanisms before new members can join.

This development may appear as a paradox. For many years, British governments have pushed for an EU enlargement that would gradually transform the Union into a loose federation of member states.

“As we contemplate countries like Serbia and Albania one day joining the EU we must find a way to slow down access to each other’s labour markets until we can be sure this will not cause vast migrations […] I look forward to find a way to continue with enlargement but in a way that regains the trust and support of our peoples,” Cameron said, speaking to the press in Brussels on Friday.

On the eve of the EU summit, the largest British tabloid, The Sun, hijacked the Commission’s Berlaymont building walls to project an anti-immigration message thereby pressuring Cameron to toughen the tone, especially towards impoverished Eastern European countries, waiting in line to join the EU.

“When a new country joins, we have to look into what kind of transition controls we put in place. As I said […], it may be necessary to look at new mechanisms: percent of GDP, rates of wages, I don’t want to see what happened in the past,” he added, calling for a treaty change at the press conference.

'Hysteria'

But EU diplomatic sources claim this is just empty rhetoric.“If he was serious about changing the rules, the UK would have raised the question at the previous General Affairs Council, whose conclusions on enlargement Cameron endorsed. No other member state is raising this question in such a hysterical way. Enlargement policy is going on as it is without changes.”

Another EU source confirmed there had been no debate on this issue at the Council and that the “UK is isolated on the issue.”

“What Cameron said to the leaders is that he wants a discussion on this topic right before the next enlargement. That’s probably Montenegro in about five years’ time and Cameron will be gone by then. Believe me, comes summer we won’t even talk about this anymore. This is aimed at his domestic audience before 1 January,” he said, referring to the lifting of labour restrictions for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals.

Negotiations with Serbia

The big “winner” of the EU’s timid progress on enlargement is Serbia, who will be starting EU accession negotiations on 21 January 2014, a date determined by the Greek presidency earlier this week. But Serbia’s accession path looks thorny.

Despite the EU leaders’ green light, Serbia’s normalisation of relations with its neighbour Kosovo is still being closely monitored, “so that Serbia and Kosovo can continue on their respective European paths, while avoiding that either can block the other in these efforts.”

Kosovo broke away from Serbia after the 1999 war and proclaimed its independence in 2008, which Belgrade still refuses to recognise.  An EU-facilitated dialogue started in 2011 and helped both countries smooth their relations.

Zoran Milanovic, the Prime Minister of the new EU member, Croatia, a former Yugoslav country who fought against Serbia in the early nineties, and whose country now has the power to veto Serbia’s EU membership, warned: “I expect Belgrade’s authorities to behave better on questions such as the heritage of war, minorities’ status […] We have not put barriers so far, we are we well-intentioned, and it is in our interest that Serbia becomes a member of the EU. But we all need to understand that the criteria in the EU are very demanding.”

Albania blocked

Tirana’s hopes to get a candidate status with the EU, a first step that precedes the start of the negotiations with the EU bloc, were also dashed.

The Dutch parliament announced prior to the Summit it would block Albania’s progress due to concerns about the level of corruption and organised crime in the country. But the Netherlands were not isolated in their move. The UK, Germany, France and Denmark also said the granting of candidate status to Albania was premature.

“We are not currently supporting a move to candidate status for Albania,” David Cameron confirmed, adding: “There are quite a lot of steps that need to be taken before candidate status would become appropriate. I think we should use these steps to encourage putting in place measures against corruption, organised crime, and in favour of rule of law.”

According to the Commission, Albania has delivered on EU requirements and should be granted the status of candidate country. However, decisions regarding enlargement can only be taken by consensus of the member states.

Other enlargement countries include the tiny states of Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia Herzegovina.

The former is well on the way to becoming the next EU member state. The EU praised its progress in the reforms, although serious criticism regarding Podgorica’s “peculiar understanding of the rule of law” was voiced by foreign private investors on this website.

The two other countries are still far away from a serious breakthrough on their EU path and face many domestic challenges.

Positions:

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić called the decision for starting accession negotiations "historical", but also added that it is only "the end of a very difficult beginning". In his comments, he also described it as "the realization of the dreams of the whole generation".

Representatives of the strongest party in the Government, Progressive Party of Serbia (SNS), a coalition partner to Dačić’s Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), intensified discussion in public regarding eventual early elections that could be held at the same time as local elections in Belgrade, planned for 2014. It could mean that SNS plans to profit from the positive EU decision and very high popularity and take over powerful positions such as the one of the Prime Minister from its SPS coalition partner. On the other hand, party of the Dačić SPS doesn't support early elections, saying it would be waste of money and time, but also that all the efforts must be invested in the crucial issues for Serbia, including EU accession process.

The only europhobic party Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) deplores the Council's decision, saying the process is detrimental for Serbia, for both Serbian economy and territorial integrity. For improving Serbian economy vice president of the party Slobodan Samardžić proposes intensified cooperation with Russia and China, countries that he sees as friendly towards Serbia.

A curiosity is that DSS leader Vojislav Koštunica was the pro-European united opposition representative who in 2000 won elections against Slobodan Milošević, leader of the SPS. As the times passed, his nationalist party became eurosceptic, and then europhobic. For DSS, Kosovo remains in focus as it is not completely clarified how it will be treated during the accession talks, i.e. how will the chapter 35 dedicated to that issue look like.

Libor Rouček, the Social-Democrats’ vice-president for enlargement and neighbourhood policies, said: “Our Group welcomes the Council's decision to start accession negotiations with Serbia in January. There can be no question that, given the historic steps toward normalisation of relations with Kosovo and the implementation of domestic reforms, Serbia fully deserves to move onto the next stage in the accession process."

"We are disappointed, however, by the Council's failure to send a clearer and more positive message to other Western Balkan countries."

"Albania, in particular, made significant progress in 2013, having adopted critical pieces of EU-related legislation and conducted smooth and transparent parliamentary elections. The Council's postponement of a decision on candidate status is a missed opportunity to help consolidate these gains. We encourage the Albanian government to maintain the current reform momentum, in particular in the fight against corruption and organised crime, to secure a positive decision on candidate status as soon as possible, paving the way for the opening of accession negotiations.

"Likewise, the S&D Group wishes to see the Council take a more forward-looking and constructive position on the opening of accession negotiations with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. We therefore repeat our call for a swift and mutually acceptable solution to the name issue to unblock the country's accession process, while urging the government in Skopje not to use the issue as an excuse for backsliding on democratic reforms, notably media freedoms.

"To remain credible and truly transformative, enlargement policy requires sustained and unequivocal support by EU member states: the EU must be ready to honour its commitments as soon as the candidate and future candidate countries deliver. In 2014, it will be important that member states exercise strategic foresight and political courage to move the enlargement agenda forward in all Western Balkan countries".