Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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110. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the degree to which the European Union continues to support and monitor peaceful coexistence in the western Balkans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45525/14]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The European Union actively supports and monitors peaceful coexistence in the Western Balkans, and the perspective of EU membership is a key stabilising factor. Overcoming the legacy of recent conflicts in the region and promoting good neighbourly relations form an essential part of any candidate country’s progress along its EU path.

An assessment of the contribution to regional co-operation and participation in regional initiatives by each country is an integral part of the EU’s annual progress reports, which this year were published on 8 October.

There have been concrete examples of progress in enhancing good neighbourly relations in 2014 including in sensitive areas such as war crimes and police co-operation. In March, for example, a joint centre for police cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia was opened in Trebinje in Bosnia.

The floods which severely affected Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in May led to good co-operation across the region, between the two countries and to a strong EU response. Ireland contributed €220,000 in flood relief.

Other practical examples include an agreement on reducing the prices of roaming services on public mobile communications networks signed In September between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia.

Since March 2011, Serbia and Kosovo have participated in the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue. The aim of this dialogue is the normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo. Numerous rounds held between 2011 and 2012 led to the breakthrough ‘Brussels Agreement’ in April 2013, which covered a range of practical cross-border issues such as energy, telecoms and border management. Although the Dialogue has been on hold, due to elections in both countries, I hope that the new governments will continue implementing the agreements reached to date.

In addition, the EU actively supports the participation of countries in such regional fora as the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the Organisation for South-Eastern Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP). Co-operation also continues in other frameworks such as the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), the Energy Community and the Regional School of Public Administration.