Written answers

Thursday, 24 June 2021

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

EU Membership

Photo of Cormac DevlinCormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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114. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there have been any developments in regard to Serbia and Montenegro joining the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33707/21]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Serbia and Montenegro are both currently negotiating Chapters of the Acquis with the EU. Serbia has opened negotiations on 18 Chapters, with two provisionally closed. Montenegro has opened all Chapters and provisionally closed three. The European Commission published its latest Annual Enlargement Package and country reports in October 2020. The country reports for 2020 assessed both Serbia and Montenegro as having both made limited progress.

Inter-Governmental Conferences ("IGCs") with Serbia and Montenegro will take place on 22 June. The EU Common Positions will be presented at the IGCs, followed by a political discussion between EU MS and Serbia and Montenegro at each respective meeting which will focus on the pace of reform. The IGCs will be the first held under the new enhanced accession methodology. 

The IGCs are important to maintain momentum and to ensure focus on those areas in which progress is lacking, so that both Serbia and Montenegro can progress on their EU paths. In the case of Serbia, while it has not proved possible to open chapters/clusters at this IGC given the lack of sufficient progress on the rule of law, we hope that Serbia will make further progress over the coming months to allow for the opening of clusters at the next IGC. While Montenegro has opened all chapters, concerns remain around the slow pace of reform on the rule of law in particular.

Ireland remains concerned with the consistently slow progress in both countries in regard to reforms on the fundamentals (rule of law, freedom of expression). It is ultimately the responsibility of the countries themselves to clearly demonstrate that they have the political will to follow through on commitments made concerning the acceleration of their reform efforts. It is also crucial that Serbia takes the opportunity to make progress in the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, aimed at achieving a comprehensive resolution of all issues between Kosovo and Serbia, which resumed in Brussels on 15 June. 

Ireland has been, and remains, a steadfast supporter of EU Enlargement and believes that EU accession is central to ensuring stability and peace in the Western Balkans.

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