BREAKING OUT OF THE BALKAN GHETTO: Why IPA should be changed
BREAKING OUT OF THE BALKAN GHETTO: Why IPA should be changed

Author(s): Author Not Specified
Subject(s): Civil Society, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
Published by: ESI – European Stability Initiative
Keywords: EU-Accessio; Western Balkans; IPA-fund; EU subsidies;
Summary/Abstract: ESI is proposing in this paper that the potential candidates in the Western Balkans should be given the chance to progress towards EU membership on an equal footing with previous candidates. Serbia-Montenegro and Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania should be given at least the same kind of support in 2007 as Bulgaria and Romania were given in 1997. If member-state building were to begin in 2007, it may be possible for countries of the region to achieve EU membership by 2014, in accordance with the ambitious agenda set out by the International Commission for the Balkans.The draft IPA regulation should therefore be changed to make pre-accession assistance available to both official and potential candidates. The trigger should be the signing of Stabilization and Association Agreements (expected in 2006), rather than formal candidate status. This would not increase the volume of assistance in the short term, as each country would require time to put in place the structures needed to benefit from this assistance. However, it is critical that they begin the process of member-state building immediately.

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