Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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740. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the degree to which the European Union continues to support and monitor peaceful co-existence in the western Balkans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28948/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Ireland has been a long-standing supporter of the enlargement process, believing it to be one of the most successful foreign policies of the Union. We believe that the prospect of Union membership encourages countries to work together for a more prosperous and stable future, and helps to overcome the bitter legacies of past conflicts. The European Union has Delegations to the countries of the Western Balkans, and Member States receive regular updates from them on a variety of local and regional issues. The countries of the Western Balkans feature regularly on the agendas of the Council, and of its working groups. The annual Progress Reports produced by the European Commission in the early autumn provide an invaluable assessment of the progress within individual countries in respect of the aquis, and allow Member States an opportunity to examine in a systematic way the areas where greater work is needed, as well as where real progress has been demonstrated.