Good news for Croatia, bad news for Macedonia. These are some highlights from the European Commission progress draft report on the Western Balkans, to be published on November 5, to which Balkan Insight has gained exclusive access.

Albania: uneven progress
The European Commission acknowledges that the country has continued to make progress in democracy and rule of law. However, it is criticised for lacking dialogue between political parties. The proper functioning of state institutions also requires consolidation.

"Despite some progress, the fight against corruption and organised crime remains a major challenge", the report says. It says an overall anti-corruption strategy has not started, and emphasises that corruption "remains widespread and serious problem".

The report adds: "Fighting corruption in the judiciary remains a key issue", and it urges a thorough investigation of the Gerdec explosion case. "Much work is needed on all aspects of the issue, including judicial accountability and transparency of political party founding," the paper notes.

The report notes only limited progress in preventing money laundering, as well as the fight against drug trafficking, which "remains a serious concern". Albania is lacking an adequate court infrastructure, the report says, stressing a "comprehensive reform strategy for the judiciary is missing".

According to the paper, Albania needs to undertake greater efforts to establish an independent, efficient, and merit-based civil service.

Albania has made progress in aligning its legislation, policies, and capacities with European standards and in implementing Interim agreement commitments. However, in the field of justice, freedom, and security, country has progressed "unevenly"; therefore, the Commission considers there is a need for overall improvement.

In addition, although Albania is participating in dialogue over the liberalisation of the visa regime, the report says it has not yet met the EU's standards regarding the visa regime. In this regard, the report recommends Albania to start issuing biometric passports.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: corruption still major concern
The report notes that Bosnia needs strengthened commitment and determined action against corruption. The country has made some progress in aligning its legislation and policies with European standards. However, the report stresses that country's administrative capacity needs strengthening.

The signing of the SAA confirmed the EU's commitment to the country's European future.

Bosnia began implementing the interim agreement in July but constitutional elements established by the Dayton peace agreement have been challenged by key political leaders in both entities and EU-related reforms have slowed.

Consensus remains weak on the key reform priorities.

Corruption and organised crime, as well as money laundering remain concerns in Bosnia and Herzegovina. "Drug trafficking remains a serious problem, which requires sustained efforts," the report says, noting limited progress in preventing money laundering.

The report also notes the ill-treatment of prisoners in the country. "Access to justice in civil and criminal trials remains matter of concern, and equality before the law is not always guaranteed."

The Commission emphasises the need for implementation of all broadcasting laws so they can meet European Partnership priorities, and notes that little additional progress has been made over freedom of expression and in the media, as well as freedom of assembly and association and freedom of religion.

Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to make further progress in the visa regime, and to establish functioning asylum system. While the report notes some progress in justice, freedom, and security, it requires further improvements in all mentioned areas. Progress made over the police is noted. "The adoption of relevant police legislation, which will provide for seven new agencies at state level, is positive," the paper says.

Croatia: `moving forward at a steady pace'
The Commission will recommend a road map to conclude the technical parts of the accession negotiations during 2009. The Commission also proposes setting up working groups to start drafting accession treaty with Croatia and set a clear timeframe when concluding chapters.

Croatia has improved its ability to take on the obligations of membership, the report says, adding: "Preparations for meeting EU requirements are moving forward at a steady pace and there is high degree of alignment with EU rules in a number of sectors".

However, the problem of corruption is noted in this, the most advanced country in Western Balkans. Although the European Commission notes some progress in this field, it concludes that corruption remains widespread. "Implementation of anti-corruption efforts still lacks strong coordination and efficient non-partisan monitoring and institutional capacity requires strengthening", the paper says. Regarding the judiciary and fundamental rights, it notes progress in this area but warns that reforms in the judiciary "continue but at a relatively slow pace".

"Significant challenges remain", the report says. "Most tools are in place to fight against corruption but given the scale of the problem, these are not being deployed with sufficient vigour".

The Commission recognises progress in the field of human rights and the protection of minorities. But it notes challenges over the actual implementation of human rights. The report says the country needs to encourage a greater spirit of tolerance towards the Serbs, for example. In addition, it needs to take appropriate measures to protect "those who may still be subject to threats or acts of discrimination, hostility, or violence".

The country, due to conclude accession talks with EU next year, is taken to task over the position of journalists and the political pressures they face. "There have been cases of threats and attacks against journalists, particularly those working on corruption cases and organised crime," says the report, which was compiled before the recent murder of the publisher Ivo Pukanic.

Croatia has continued cooperation with the Hague tribunal, the report says, but there are problems over the access of the Hague tribunal to certain documents in Croatia. "Impartial prosecution of cases transferred from ICTY to Croatian jurisdiction as well as domestically initiated cases needs to be ensured," the paper says.

Macedonia: red light for accession talks
The European Commission will not recommend a start to accession talks with Macedonia, an EU candidate country since December 2005. According to the report, the country has not met the political criteria, and has only partially addressed the key priorities of the then accession partnership.

The report notes the violence that marred early elections this year and also notes "the lack of constructive political dialogue between major political parties and actors adversely affected the functioning of the political institutions".

The country has made good progress in judicial reforms, but the need remains for further strengthening of the judiciary "as regards its independence, efficiency, human resources, and budgetary framework". Macedonia is acknowledged to have made some progress even in its anti-corruption policy. However, like in other Western Balkans countries, "corruption remains widespread and constitutes a serious problem".

While the country has broadly placed institutional frameworks for the protection of human rights and minorities, the paper says further efforts are required to improve implementation in a number of fields. "Allegations of ill treatment by the police need to be more effectively investigated and prosecuted."

Macedonia is the only country in the region that has made good progress in fulfilling the benchmarks of the roadmap for visa liberalisation, notably as regards the introduction of biometric passports.

While there has been improvement in the inter-ethnic climate in Macedonia, and report approves the adoption of a new law on languages, the Commission urges greater efforts to promote the integration of the ethnic communities of the country, particularly in education. "The concerns of the smaller ethnic minorities are not sufficiently addressed," paper says.

Cooperation with the Hague tribunal is full. However, the Commission warns that the bilateral impunity agreement between Macedonia and US is not in line with the EU's common position. Regarding regional cooperation, the paper notes good relations with neighbours apart from Greece, with whom relations "were further affected by the unresolved name issue". It says: "Actions which could negatively impact on good neighbourly relations should be avoided."

The Commission accepts that Macedonia has made further efforts to improve its ability to assume the obligations of membership, and notes that country has made progress in fulfillment of the priorities of the accession partnership. "However, the country still faces major shortcomings in implementing and effectively enforcing legislation".

Montenegro: more judicial reform urged
The Commission considers Montenegro needs to make more efforts to implement reforms, in particularly to the judiciary.

The progress report notes a need to improve governance and the functioning of the judiciary and to show greater political will to achieve results in the fight against corruption. "Despite some progress, the fight against corruption and organised crime remains major challenge", the report says.

It acknowledges progress in the field of money laundering but stresses that the investigative capacity of law enforcement bodies is still insufficient. Money laundering in Montenegro remains serious case for concern, and the report calls for further efforts to prevent and combat it.

The document notes that drug abuse and drug-related crime in the country continue to rise. Some progress is noted in the fight gains organised crime, but this, too remains serious matter of concern, according to the document. It stresses that little has been done in preventing trafficking of human beings. "Montenegro remains a country of origin, transit and destination", the paper says.

The Commission remarks that a political consensus on EU-related issues remains strong, "but needs to be broadened on other areas of state-building". According to the paper, the country continued to adapt to requirements created by the country's independence and has further improved its coordination of European integration. "But management and capacity, in particular in line ministries, remain weak", the paper says.

Reform of the judiciary is acknowledged but the report stresses that "the core reform legislation to ensure the independence and accountability of the judiciary is still missing". "The overall efficiency of the judicial system remains low," the paper says. However, the document notes that there has been some progress in strengthening the strategic administrative framework for the fight against corruption, while "the public perception of corruption has somewhat improved".

The paper emphasises, as in previous years, that administrative capacity in Montenegro is weak, "and needs to be enhanced". It adds: "Key areas such as urban planning and environmental protection, existing administrative structures and capacity are inadequate and need improvement."

Regarding the question of visa policy, report notes that Montenegro already started to issue biometric passports. "However, the visa regime is not fully in line with European standards and further efforts are needed to fulfill criteria set out in the roadmap on visa liberalisation," the report says.

Montenegro has made progress in the field of human rights and protection of minorities, and the report says that country remains broadly in line with European standards.

Serbia: overshadowed by Kosovo
This year, political life in Serbia has been dominated by the declaration of independence of Kosovo, the report notes. "Government activities during much of reporting period were affected by issues relating to Kosovo and a lack of consensus regarding relations with the EU," the document says. Since this year's presidential and legislative elections, however, "there has been increased stability in government and greater consensus on European integration".

The report mentions that Serbian parliament has ratified the Stability and Association Agreement, but warns that only few laws were adopted since.

As in previous years, Serbia is praised for its administrative capacities, and the paper notes that European integration structures have strengthened. "Serbia remains well placed to implement SAA and the interim agreement thanks to its good administrative capacity," the paper states.

However, the progress report warns that little has been done in the fight against corruption, and a clear anti-corruption strategy is lacking. "There are loopholes in the legislation and a lack of sufficiently independent oversight bodies in areas such as party financing, conflict of interest, public procurement and privatisation," the report says. "Overall, corruption remains widespread and constitutes serious problem in Serbia".

Money laundering in Serbia is serious problem, too. The paper also notes that country hasn't adopted a national strategy and action plan on preventing drug abuse and reducing supply. The fight against organised crime remains a serious matter of concern and Serbia is seen as country of origin, transit and destination for trafficking in human beings.

Further efforts need to be made by Serbia to ensure the independence, accountability and efficiency of the judicial system. The document recognises that Serbia has made significant progress in cooperation with the Hague tribunal but recalls that full cooperation is an international obligation and one of the key priorities of the European partnership.

In the field of the visa regime, Serbia is not fully in line with European standards. The document mentions that the country started issuing biometric passports since last summer but stresses that "in the absence of relevant legislation in the area of border control, implementation of the national integrated border management strategy and the action plan has been slow".

In the field of human rights and minorities, the report mentioned a number of incidents involving inflammatory language and violence against civil society organisations, human rights defenders and some sections of the media. "No progress has been made in investigations of murdered journalists dating back in the 1990s and of the attempted murder of a journalist in April 2007," the paper says.

The report mentions incidents in Vojvodina in the aftermath of Kosovo's independence, and attacks on the Albanian minority in Serbia, but also voices concern over the worsening situation in the Sandzak. Serbia in this report is criticised for "insufficient attention to resolving the status of refugees and internally displaced persons".

The report says there is a need for a legal framework, including a comprehensive anti-discriminatory law. A special part of the Serbia's progress report is given to the country's reactions after Kosovo declared independence. "Relations between EU and Serbia have been affected by the declaration of independence of Kosovo," the report says.

The document stresses that "it is important that Serbia demonstrates a constructive attitude towards Kosovo's participation in regional initiatives and international forums".

According to the document, Serbia has strengthened parallel institutions in Kosovo, including establishment of an assembly of municipalities, and has organised elections in Kosovo territory despite UNMIK's disapproval.

Kosovo: too much trafficking, too little rule of law
The process of reforms in Kosovo has been delayed as the work of government was affected by the "final status" question and other issues related to Kosovo's declaration of independence, the document says. This, therefore, is the first progress report since independence was declared on February 17, although Kosovo was involved in European integration process through the so-called tracking mechanisms of the SAA.

Kosovo has adopted a considerable amount of key legislation but these need to be implemented. "Strengthening rule of law, anti-corruption policy, the fight against organized crime and enhancing dialogue and reconciliation between the communities are major political challenges," the paper says.

The judicial system is still weak. Courts face serious human resources and organisational challenges and the backlog of cases continues to be a major problem. The document notes that the witness protection programme is not effective, while parallel courts, applying Serbian law, continue to operate. Corruption in Kosovo, too, remains widespread and is a serious problem. "An anti-corruption strategy and action plan are still needed," the paper says.

The Commission says progress in combating money laundering has been insufficient, while the judiciary and law enforcement continue to lack the expertise to fight economic and financial crime. Drug trafficking is serious problem. "Kosovo is one of the main trafficking routes for drugs in Southern Balkans." It adds: "There is no action plan or strategy to combat drug trafficking", the documents stresses. "Statistics are unreliable and intelligence gathering capacity is insufficient."

According to the paper, the authorities do not have a strategy to fight organised crime, which poses serious problem and affects the rule of law and business environment. "Kosovo continues to be an area of origin, transit, and destination for trafficking in human beings," the report says, mentioning that a strategy and action plan were adopted in July, but enforcement is inadequate.

The public administration in Kosovo is weak and inefficient, the report says. The paper mentions that the stability of the democratic system has been maintained, despite a number of incidents. Kosovo's leaders have continued to cooperate with the international community, the paper says. But the Kosovo assembly has shortcomings in terms of functioning, the European Commission considers and there is insufficient capacity to scrutinize draft legislation and exercise parliamentary control over government.

The report notes that the constitution provides guarantees for the respect of human rights and rights of minorities but the paper stresses the need for stronger political determination and effective monitoring. However, the document admits progress in the area of minority and cultural rights legislation.

Freedom of expression is one area where Kosovo, reportedly made progress but the paper notes that defamation continues to be criminal offence. "The media continue to be vulnerable to political interference", the paper emphasizes. Freedom of association and assembly is guaranteed under the constitution, however according to the progress report "the relevant legal framework is not yet in place". In addition, the capacity of civil society organisations remains weak, the paper notes.

The document says economic and social rights are only partially guaranteed and more sustained efforts are needed regarding the protection of women and children against all forms of violence.

Gjeraqina Tuhina is Brussels correspondent for Kosovo`s public TV, RTK. Balkan Insight is BIRN`s online publication. 

Source: BalkanInsight.com