Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 198: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which he directly and together with his EU and UN colleagues remain focused on any issues arising in the Western Balkans with particular reference to the need to ensure and protect democracy and democratic structures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25669/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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All the countries of the Western Balkans were given a European perspective and their path to EU integration was confirmed as far back as the EU–Western Balkans Summit in Thessaloniki in 2003. The Summit Declaration also committed the EU to supporting the endeavours of the countries of the region to consolidate democracy, stability and to promote economic development. As the countries of the region continue to make progress in the realisation of their European perspective Ireland has been, and continues to be, fully supportive of their efforts in this regard and we work closely with our EU and international partners, including the UN, as well as the countries themselves in achieving this objective. I will give a few specific examples of this continued focus on the Western Balkans, particularly as regards protecting democracy and democratic structures to illustrate the point. Starting with Albania, since the political agreement between the government and opposition was reached in November 2011, we have seen real efforts being made by both political sides to take reforms forward. There has been a significant expression of cross-party commitment to the EU, and democracy, agenda. An Action Plan was agreed in March to address the key priorities in the Commission's Opinion on Albania's application for EU membership, and the results are encouraging, including in the area of rule of law and fundamental rights. If progress continues I would hope to see Albania become an official candidate for EU accession in the near future. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Vjekoslav Bevanda, has shown commitment to resolving the outstanding issues which have prevented the EU-Bosnia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) from entering into force, including giving effect to the Sejdic-Finci judgement. Delivering on these commitments will remain a challenge, but I firmly believe that they can be achieved. The UN High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko, spoke about a "prevailing positive trend" in Bosnia towards Euro-Atlantic integration in his recent six-monthly report to the UN Security Council on the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords. I would certainly echo these sentiments. The successful and peaceful conduct of the recent local, parliamentary and Presidential elections in Serbia is testament to the strength of the democratic institutions there. The election results saw a democratic endorsement for Serbia's determination to pursue European integration. Once a new government has been formed, I look forward to Serbia's continued progress on the path to EU accession. This is not to say that further work and commitment is not required by Serbia, in particular with regard to its relations with Kosovo, but its advances are highly encouraging. In Kosovo, eligible voters were given the opportunity to vote in the Serbian parliamentary and presidential elections after agreement was reached to allow the OSCE to conduct ballot facilitation in Kosovo. As Chairmanship-in-Office of the OSCE, Ireland played a significant role in brokering the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia and encouraging local actors to play a responsible role.

The endorsement by the March European Council of the launch of a feasibility study regarding an EU-Kosovo SAA by the Commission is a positive step in the EU's tangible support for Kosovo and its EU aspirations. Pristina has demonstrated determination to implement the significant reforms required to progress its European integration objectives and Ireland, as is the case for all the countries of the Western Balkans, will continue to support Kosovo in achieving these reforms. In March this year, the European Commission launched a High Level Accession Dialogue (HLAD) with Macedonia . The HLAD places EU integration back at the forefront of the domestic agenda in Skopje and has reignited momentum towards achieving the necessary reforms required. The HLAD does not replace the accession negotiations, but rather places way markers to them. Finally, a decision on whether to open accession negotiations with Montenegro will be taken at the June European Council. I believe that Montenegro has done what was asked of it, including in the area of rule of law, and I hope that accession negotiations will be well underway when we take over the EU Presidency in 2013.