Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 47: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the degree to which the political situation in the Western Balkans has evolved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14085/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Ireland, together with our EU partners, is committed to enhancing stability in the Western Balkans region. The EU perspective for the countries in the region, agreed at the June 2003 Thessaloniki European Council, is essential in helping to build and maintain this stability. The EU will remain engaged in assisting the countries in the region to undertake the reforms necessary to move forward in their path to the EU. While there remain issues of serious concern, and much remains to be achieved at national level, the regional dynamic is more encouraging.

Most recently, the arrest on 26 May of former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic by the Serbian authorities and his transfer to the Tribunal in The Hague on 31 May represented an important step in addressing the appalling atrocities committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s.

His arrest was preceded by a number of important initiatives by the governments of the region to deal with the legacy of the Balkan Wars. In March 2010 Serbia's parliament passed a declaration condemning the Srebrenica massacre and apologising to the families of the victims. In the same month, Bosnia and Herzegovina appointed an Ambassador to Serbia after a three-year hiatus. This was followed by a joint visit by the Serbian and Croatian Presidents to Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 2010 to attend a commemoration to mark the 15th anniversary the Srebrenica massacre. In November 2010, the Serbian and Croatian Presidents paid a joint visit to Vukovar in Croatia, where the Serbian President laid a wreath to commemorate the victims of the three-month siege in 1991.

Over the past two years, the region has also received a boost in its relations with the EU through the extension of a visa waiver scheme for entry to the Schengen Zone to all countries of the Western Balkans, except Kosovo.

Following on from a joint EU-Serbia resolution at the UN General Assembly last year, Serbia and Kosovo have been engaged in an EU-facilitated dialogue since March 2011. The talks are focused on practical matters such as land registry, customs stamps, telecoms and electricity. It is hoped that the parties will reach agreement on some of these matters soon.

Elections took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Albania in the past year, with a general election due to take place in Macedonia shortly. In all cases, the elections passed off peacefully and marked an improvement on past elections. However, almost eight months after the elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, government formation has yet to be completed and the political atmosphere remains difficult. Last month, EU High Representative Ashton achieved a notable success in the EU's efforts to stabilise the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina when she persuaded President Dodik of the Republika Srpska to repeal a planned referendum which could have questioned the state-level judiciary and the international presence in the country. It is important that this agreement is fulfilled.

In Kosovo, the Constitutional Court deemed the election of Behgjet Pacolli as President to have breached the constitution, and a consensus candidate, Atifete Jahjaga, was elected Kosovo's first woman president on 7 April.

The local elections in Albania on 8 May were closely contested. The result of the election for mayor of Tirana has yet to be determined. Controversy over the count has led to demonstrations in the city.

Meanwhile, negotiations on Croatian accession to the EU are in the final phase. Montenegro, which was granted candidate status last December, has still to comply with some outstanding issues identified by the Commission before negotiations can be opened. The Commission will report on progress in this regard in autumn this year.