Key findings of the Opinion on Albania

On 9 November, the Commission adopted its 2010 Enlargement package. It comprised a Strategy paper, the Opinions on the membership applications by Montenegro and Albania and seven Progress Reports on the other candidate countries and potential candidates. On Albania, the Commission concluded that, while good progress was made during the last 12 months, further reforms are needed in a number of key areas, as set out in the opinion, before the country can be ready to start accession negotiations.

Ahead of the adoption of the Report, Commissioner Füle stated: "We share with Albania the common objective to welcome it one day in the EU family. Albania has come a long way already on the EU integration path. The road is long and difficult, and main challenges lie in Albania itself. I hope Albania will find the political determination necessary to overcome these obstacles and to build a true democratic society, with a strong market economy and a body of legislation fully aligned with that of the EU. This will allow us to meet our joint objective and to contribute to a better life for the citizens of Albania."

Political criteria

Albania has made progress towards fulfilling the Copenhagen political criteria. As regards the functioning of democratic institutions and the civil service, it has established a constitutional and legislative framework in line with European standards. The 2009 legislative elections met most international standards and were an improvement over past elections, even if some deficiencies were identified. Albania has in recent years strengthened rule of law, in particular by conducting legislative and institutional reforms of the judiciary and in the fight against corruption. Law enforcement bodies have been strengthened. The country's legal and institutional framework on human rights is largely in place and broadly corresponds to European standards. However, further efforts will be required to address shortcomings in the political field. The effectiveness and stability of Albania's democratic institutions, notably parliament, is not sufficiently achieved. Political dialogue is confrontational and does not respect the democratic spirit, not least because of the political stalemate since the June 2009 elections. Shortcomings identified in the last elections have not yet been translated into an electoral reform, needed for upcoming elections. Public administration remains weak and politicised. A comprehensive and coordinated judiciary reform strategy is pending. Enforcement of rule of law remains deficient. A solid track record of effective fight against corruption and organised crime needs to be developed. Implementation of legislation and policy instruments in the field of human rights and protection of minorities is still insufficient.

Albania plays a constructive role in maintaining regional stability and fostering good neighbourly relations with other Western Balkan and EU countries.

Economic criteria

Albania has taken important steps towards establishing a functioning market economy. To become a functioning market economy, Albania needs to further strengthen governance, improve the performance of the labour market, remove uncertainties in the field of property rights and step up law enforcement. Furthermore, in order to enable it to cope over the medium term with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union, Albania needs to strengthen its physical infrastructure and human capital and pursue further structural reforms.

There is a good track record in the implementation of economic reforms and broad consensus on the fundamentals of economic policy. Albania achieved a degree of macroeconomic stability sufficient enough to allow economic operators to make decisions in a climate of predictability. The right macroeconomic policy mix in the past years generated growth rates exceeding 5% despite the crisis. However, fiscal consolidation has been reversed recently and the high level of public debt remains a source of macro-financial vulnerability. A narrow export base and public investment have led to a significant and persistent current account imbalance. The existence of widespread informal work arrangements continues to severely distort the labour market and unemployment remains high, reaching 13% in 2009. Weaknesses in the rule of law hamper the business environment. Infrastructure requires further investment.

EU Legislation

Albania has made significant efforts to align its legislation with the EU legislation, particularly concerning standardisation, competition and public procurement. The regulatory framework for business has been improved and further alignment achieved in the fields of customs and taxation. Considerable efforts were made to strengthen the fight against organised crime (in terms of legislative framework, investigative capacity, resources).

However, Albania still needs to make substantial progress in other fields such as, environment, intellectual property, transport, agriculture, food safety, social policy and audio-visual. Albania needs to demonstrate more concrete results in the fight against drugs, human trafficking and money laundering.

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Key findings of the 2010 progress report on Bosnia and Herzegovina

On 9 November, the Commission adopted its 2010 Enlargement package. It comprised a Strategy paper, the Opinions on the membership applications by Montenegro and Albania and seven Progress Reports on the other candidate countries and potential candidates, including on Bosnia and Herzegovina. On Bosnia and Herzegovina, the conclusion was that the lack of a shared vision by political leaders on the direction of the country continued to block key reforms and further progress towards the EU. Initial steps need to be taken to align the Constitution with the European Convention on Human Rights and to improve the efficiency of institutions. The country needs to be in a position to adopt, implement and enforce the laws and rules of the EU in order to pursue its European integration strategic goal.Ahead of the adoption of the Report, Commissioner Füle stated: "We are very concerned about the little progress made in the country's European integration agenda. I call on all political leaders in Bosnia Herzegovina to leave past divisions where they belong, in the past, and to invest their energies and their resources for a shared vision of a European future for the country".

Political criteria

Bosnia and Herzegovina has made limited progress in addressing the political criteria. The general elections of October 2010 broadly met international standards for democratic elections. Some progress related to the rule of law, notably in areas such as border management and migration policy, was made through reforms aimed at meeting visa liberalisation requirements. The administrative capacity of the Parliament improved but coordination with the Council of Ministers and with the Entities remained poor. A single state-level Ombudsman is functioning well. Financial resources for the implementation of the Roma Strategy have been increased.

Important steps were also taken to promote regional reconciliation, notably in the area of support for refugee return and judicial cooperation with neighbouring countries. The mandates of international judges and prosecutors dealing with war crimes were extended. Prosecution of war crimes by the state court has continued to be satisfactory, but needs to improve in the Entities and Cantons. The Anti-corruption agency has been established has been appointed. Over the last few years, cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has remained satisfactory.

The country has made very little progress towards meeting the requirements for the closure of the OHR. The domestic political climate during the pre-electoral period was dominated by nationalistic rhetoric. The role played by ethnic identity in politics has continued to hamper the functioning of the executive, the legislative and the judiciary as well as the country's overall governance. The process for changing the Constitution to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) has not been initiated. The State-level census law was not adopted. The political pressure on the judiciary has continued and the backlog of cases remains very high. Implementation of the Justice reform strategy and of the National war crimes strategy was insufficient. Cases of intimidation against journalists increased. Separation of children along ethnic lines within schools remains an issue. Widespread corruption remains a serious problem.

Economic criteria

Bosnia and Herzegovina has made little further progress towards a functioning market economy. Considerable further reform efforts need to be pursued with determination to enable the country to cope over the long-term with the competitive pressures and market forces within the Union. Implementation of the Stand-By Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund has been broadly satisfactory. Confidence in local banks has returned. Some limited improvements in the business environment can be reported, in particular regarding business registration.

The fiscal situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains difficult, especially in the Federation. Commitment to the agreed fiscal adjustment and structural reform measures, as well as their implementation, remains weak. Privatisation, restructuring of public enterprises and the liberalisation of network industries did not advance. The high and poorly targeted social transfers reduce the propensity to work, further highlighting the need for reform of the social benefits system. Unemployment continued to be very high and the informal sector remains an important challenge. The business environment is affected by administrative inefficiencies and the weak rule of law. Progress towards the creation of a single economic space within the country has been very limited.

EU Legislation

Some progress has been made in aligning the country's legislation, policies and capacity with European standards in areas such as free movement of capital, intellectual property, education and research, transport, financial control, and a number of justice, freedom and security-related matters. Bosnia and Herzegovina now needs to step-up its efforts at implementation.

Progress remains insufficient in other areas, such as free movement of goods, persons and services, customs and taxation, competition and state aid, public procurement, employment and social policies, agriculture and fisheries, environment, energy and information society and media. Sustained efforts in sensitive areas such as the fight against corruption and organised crime are also a priority.

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