Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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565. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which he and his Department through the EU continue to foster good relations between the communities in the western Balkans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13907/23]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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566. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress to date in regard to European enlargement, with particular reference to the western Balkans; when the negotiations will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13908/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 565 and 566 together.

The Western Balkans lies in the heart of Europe. Its future is unquestionably within the European Union. Given that, Ireland has a clear strategic interest in fostering good relations between the communities in the Western Balkans, and between the EU and the region.

We do this in numerous ways. First, by facilitating intra-regional dialogue, such as the EU-chaired Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue. Across all our engagements with the Governments of Kosovo and Serbia, Ireland emphasises the need for concrete progress on the Dialogue, as a key step towards EU.

We are also active participatants in the annual EU-Western Balkans summit, which I attended in Tirana last December. Alongside valuable high-level political engagement, these summits deliver concrete outputs. In Tirana, for example, we concluded an agreement to lower roaming charges between the EU and the Western Balkans from October 2023. We also saw the inclusion of Western Balkans universities in the European Universities initiative under Erasmus+ on an equal footing with EU Member States. These steps have real impact in fostering good relations between the communities in the Western Balkans themselves, and with the European Union.

The EU accession process requires all Western Balkans states to demonstrate their ability to cooperate with their neighbours. For example, the Western Balkans Common Regional Market was established as a catalyst for deeper regional economic integration and as a stepping stone towards EU Single Market membership.

Ireland also participates in the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA), which is the EU’s primary support tool to assist states in the implementation of reforms. Regional cooperation, good neighbourly relations and reconciliation efforts to overcome open bilateral issues and the legacy of the past are priority objectives for the instrument which, for the period 2021-2027, has a budgetary envelope of over €14 billion.

Currently, in the Western Balkans, there are five recognised candidates for membership of the European Union: Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Kosovo is recognised as a ‘potential candidate’ by the EU.

In December 2022, candidate status was granted to Bosnia and Herzegovina on the basis that reforms are undertaken in a number of key areas, while in July 2022 the EU officially launched accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. These developments sent an important signal to the Western Balkans that the EU is serious about enlargement. Elsewhere, the EU is continuing to support reform efforts in Serbia and Montenegro.

Kosovo submitted an application for EU membership on 15 December 2022. Sweden, as current EU Presidency, has begun consultations with EU Member States to decide how best to progress Kosovo’s application.

The timeline for accession negotiations depends on the ability of the candidate countries to implement reforms required for EU membership. Ireland supports a swift accession process for the countries of the Western Balkans, provided that the meet all the necessary criteria. We will continue to offer our full support to candidate and potential candidate countries in the Western Balkans as they advance on the path to EU membership.