Mr. Erwan Fouéré:

I thank the Chairman for the invitation. I warmly welcome the initiative to focus on the enlargement policy of the European Union precisely at a time when the policy is under quite considerable criticism, mostly for the wrong reasons. In past reports and in the European Parliament elections, a lot of criticism has been voiced against enlargement. In a sense it became a victim of the very toxic debate on immigration levels in a number of EU member countries, not least in the United Kingdom.
The new President of the European Commission, Mr. Juncker, has stated that there will be no further enlargement of the EU during his mandate. He is technically correct, because none of the countries currently negotiating accession - Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey - are anywhere near conclusion. Nevertheless, his comment sent a very negative signal about the EU's continued commitment on enlargement. The situation was redressed thanks to the initiative of Chancellor Merkel at the end of August in convening a summit meeting of all the western Balkan leaders. The initiative also emphasised the EU's continued commitment, particularly towards the western Balkans - a commitment which was solemnly entered into in 2003 at the summit in Thessaloniki, conducted under the then Greek Presidency, that the future of the western Balkans lies in the European Union, subject to all the necessary reforms being carried out.
It was also important that Chancellor Merkel's initiative emphasised what a grave mistake it would be for the European Union to reduce its focus on the western Balkans. There are a number of reasons for that. First, it would serve the interest of precisely those people we are trying to ensure are involved and active in the reforms, which will improve the entire situation - for example, the people who benefit from the current status quo. I refer to the oligarchs and the organised criminal groups that are still active in a number of western Balkan countries in human trafficking, etc., who have a vested interest in ensuring that there is no change in the process.
Second, the EU is not the only player in the western Balkans at the moment. Russia is increasingly active. Its increasingly assertive foreign policy is making itself felt, as witnessed in the recent visit of President Putin to Serbia just a few weeks ago. Of course the energy interests are very much involved there.
Third, it is vital that the EU maintain its focus on the Balkans, if only because major reform efforts are still required in those countries. The level of corruption is still very high and there is a lot of political interference in the judiciary. Political dialogue remains weak, which means that parliamentary institutions do not function as they should. For example, a number of parties have boycotted parliament because they feel their rights are not being respected, etc.
Perhaps even more worrying is the increasing pressure on the media. All the international watchdogs and organisations, including the OSCE's representative on freedom of the media, have highlighted their growing concern at the worsening situation for the media, as well as the harassment to which civil society organisations are being subjected and the impact this is having on minority rights, not least lesbian and gay rights, which have been affected in a number of these countries.
Another critical area is unemployment. The statistics show that the levels of unemployment for Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina hover around 30%, of which over 50% is youth unemployment. Therefore, a major effort is required in all these aspects.
The countries that have the greatest problems at the moment, as reflected in the progress reports presented by the European Commission last month, are Bosnia, Herzegovina and Macedonia. In these countries there is a lack of political will to move the reform process forward, which has affected their overall performance in their efforts to at least start the accession process for the European Union.
It is difficult to see the main solutions. Definitely, the European Union needs to be much more determined in its approach towards the enlargement strategy, and much more prescriptive. It must clearly set out what is required in all areas, such as independence of judiciary and political dialogue.
Visa liberalisation was a very good prescriptive approach. Benchmarks were set out and roadmaps were established, and the countries of the western Balkans fulfilled all of those requirements and thus enabled visa liberalisation to enter into force. A much more prescriptive approach by the European Union is definitely needed.
We would also advocate a much stronger voice for the EU on issues of media and civil society. We want it to make sure that civil society is, as a matter of course, involved in the formulation of policy and in the decision-making process. We are talking about countries that are still in transition and have a lot of fragile institutions that are affected by many vested interests. Institutions of government also need to show greater accountability.
Another important area is that of political parties and how to inculcate a culture of dialogue in countries where this is not a given. There is a need for compromise. National parliaments of the EU could help with this by promoting training programmes, particularly those focused on the youth or younger generation.
Another important area in which the EU needs to be more proactive is economic development. I refer to reforms in terms of promoting economic governance, ensuring public procurement is free from political interference, and creating an environment more conducive to business development and foreign investment, thus reducing the temptation for people in many countries to go abroad in order to make a life, get a job, etc. These are all important priorities on which the EU can and must help in the countries concerned.
I would like to outline one other interesting and important development from the recent progress reports.

There is a suggestion from the European Commission that dialogue on foreign policy should be enhanced with the countries of the western Balkans and, of course, with Turkey, not least because of developments in the broader region, such as Ukraine, the impact of the more assertive Russian foreign policy and the developments in the Middle East. Certainly we would wholeheartedly support greater dialogue with these countries on foreign policy issues in order to try to promote alignment with the EU approach. Serbia is a strong actor in the western Balkans. It will have the chairmanship of OSCE next year and will therefore assume a critical role, not least in relation to Ukraine.

My concluding word is that the EU needs to work much harder in order to demonstrate that its soft power - the transformative power it has had with very successful enlargements in the past decade - bears dividends and that there are a lot of advantages to be gained for both the EU and the western Balkans through continued enlargement. Both sides must work hard at this to ensure the best possible results.