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Sweden remains committed to EU enlargement, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said, even while reiterating the key role Sweden plays, saying membership in the bloc “is the best way to safeguard our values and national interests in an increasingly complex world.” He noted that “by allowing the doors of the EU to remain open, we make a considerable contribution to peace and democracy on our continent,” citing the Western Balkans, where there has been considering disagreement over whether countries riddled with corruption, economic woes and failure to catch accused war criminals should become part of the EU.

Nato ministers on Friday offered Montenegro a formal plan to join the alliance, just days after the EU announced it would lift visas for its citizens. "With a sustained effort at further reform, today's invitation to join the Membership Action Plan (MAP) will be a stepping stone to the ultimate goal: full membership in Nato," the secretary-general of the military alliance, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at a press conference in Brussels.

Back in Podgorica, the Nato move, also connected with the recent lifting of EU visas for its citizens, is likely to boost the image of the government. But voices in the civil society warn that this will not mean an acceleration of democratic reforms, which so far are seen as being mostly on paper. Momcilo Radulovic from the European Movement, a Podgorica-based NGO, says there is still need for more transparency, good governance, and a stronger fight against organised crime and corruption. He was sceptical that Nato alone could push for these reforms. "They are only interested in reforming the military and security structures. But once we get EU candidate status, maybe at the end of 2010 or early 2011, there will be more pressure on the government," he told this website.

Kosovo was recognised as an independent state by 65 countries in 2009 and its declaration of independence was brought to the International Court in The Hague for consideration. Kosovo considers that it has proved that it is a well-functioning and stable country. The country’s biggest successes on the international scene were becoming a member of the World Bank and of the International Monetary Fund. One of the highest priorities for Pristina’s diplomacy in 2009 was lobbying in the five EU member states that were yet to recognise its independence. The first local elections, since Kosovo’s declaration of independence, were one of the main events in the past year for the new Balkan state. The European Commission noted in its annual report for the progress of the countries candidates and potential candidates for EU accession, that the main challenges ahead of Kosovo remained the democracy and the rule of law, fight against corruption and organised crime, increasing of the administrative capacity, human rights and the protection of minorities, and the integration of the communities.

Albania on Wednesday (16 December) took another step towards EU membership when the European Commission sent Tirana a voluminous questionnaire about its readiness to join the bloc.

Helmuth Lohan, head of the EU mission in Tirana, handed the questionnaire – a 384-page document with 2,280 questions – to Prime Minister Sali Berisha, the EU Delegation in Albania announced on its website. 

"The questionnaire attaches particular importance to the 'Copenhagen political criteria' for EU accession. Good governance, the rule of law, judiciary reform, the fight against corruption, media freedom – these are all key issues which will form the core of our assessment," read a statement from the EU delegation. 

Parliament gives a positive overall assessment of last year's efforts by Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to qualify for EU membership, but also underlines that Turkey has made only limited progress towards meeting the "Copenhagen" EU eligibility criteria, in resolutions approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Turkey must continue reforming to stay on track for EU membership. Key issues, such as the rule of law, freedom of expression, good neighbourly relations, treatment of ethnic minorities and the fight against corruption and organised crime, must still be addressed. The Foreign Affairs Committee adopted three resolutions on the progress made in 2009 by Croatia, Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,  drafted by Hannes Swoboda (S&D, AT), Ria Oomen-Ruijten (EPP, NL) and Zoran Thaler (S&D, SL) respectively.

On a visit to Brussels yesterday (14 April), Berisha delivered the answers to an EU questionnaire about the country's readiness to join the European Union (EurActiv 17/12/09).Berisha has been at the centre of Albania's political life for the last twenty years, first as president, then as leader of the opposition and now as prime minister, a position to which he was re-elected in 2009.Speaking at an event in the European Parliament organised by the Robert Schuman Foundation, Berisha pleaded the case for his country's EU accession and provided numerous examples of tough measures to crack down on organised crime and corruption.

The transparency and efficiency of Serbia's judicial reform will be crucial for the Balkan country's prospects of getting European Commission backing to start negotiations on EU membership. Progress in the area of justice was recently singled out by EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele in an answer to Carlos Coelho, a Member of the European Parliament, who questioned him on Serbia's justice reform.

"After the negative experience with Romania and Bulgaria, the issues regarding rule of law, organised crime and corruption must be addressed in the early stage of the accession process for any new candidate countries," an EU official explained. "So it is clear why the [EU] commission is focused on the Serbian judiciary reform and why the results of that reform will influence the upcoming Commission opinion on Serbia's readiness to get candidate status," the expert added. This position was supported by Olivier Chastel, Belgium's state secretary for European affairs, considered to be "the brain" of the upcoming Belgian presidency of the EU. "We have learned our lessons from the previous enlargements and we have understood that it is hard to implement reforms in the post-accession period. So in the future we will accept only countries that are totally prepared for EU membership," he said.

But European commission president José Manuel Barroso has been more cautious, saying that the end of 2011 is more likely while EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Füle warns that Croatia's last leg to accession "would be the hardest".Good progress was made in December in closing three more negotiating chapters.But the difficult chapter eight, concerning competition, still remains. Along with the fight against corruption and judicial reform, it is seen as a key test for Croatia's accession.Many believe Croatia may have to close some of its five shipyards if it is to be successful in convincing the commission that it is serious about eliminating unnecessary state aid for its shipbuilding industry.

Romania is threatening to create problems for Croatia's EU accession bid in a diplomatic counter-attack against delays to its own entry into the EU's border-free Schengen zone. Romanian foreign minister Teodor Baconschi in an interview with the daily newspaper Adevarul on Monday (3 January) attacked Germany and France for linking Romania's Schengen bid to progress on corruption and organised crime.

EUobserver understands that this option is not really feasible however, as the monitoring was a jointly agreed commitment of Bulgaria and Romania when they joined the bloc. "It's unwise to give it up if you want something else at the same time," one EU official told this website. For its part, Croatia has already been held hostage by its neighbour Slovenia, which in recent years delayed its EU accession progress over a maritime border dispute. Romania's sabre-rattling seems to be directed primarily at Germany - Croatia's main supporter in the EU - rather than the Balkan state itself. But it could, in theory, delay the process. Croatia is hoping to finish EU accession talks in the coming months. EU governments and the European Parliament then have to approve and ratify its accession treaty, with membership likely to happen in 2013 if everything goes smoothly.

Mr Petkov's allegations reflect a dire image painted by EU officials in talks with US diplomats in Sofia, as reported in a US cable dating back to 26 June 2009 and published by WikiLeaks. Under the headline "How to you make them reform when they don't want to?" the US diplomats spoke of EU commission officials' "growing and by now extreme frustration with Sofia's cosmetic fixes to get a 'good report' while failing to undertake real reforms." "The government's defensive arrogance - and lack of political will - is intensifying enlargement fatigue in Brussels," an EU source told the US diplomat. "According to reliable contacts, Brussels Eurocrats have dubbed enlargement fatigue the 'Bulgarian Break,' further tarnishing Bulgaria's bad image within the EU," the cable added.

EU commissioner Olli Rehn, in charge of enlargement, said the Macedonian government should see the move as "very strong encouragement" to "finally settle the name issue," however. The reference concerns an 18-year old dispute between Macedonia and neighbouring Greece about the use of the name Macedonia. Croatia, hoping to join the EU in 2011, is "nearing the finishing line" after years of negotiations, said Mr Rehn, but needs to further tackle corruption and organised crime "before negotiations can be concluded." The commission report urges Turkey to do more to ensure freedom of expression and freedom of religion as well as bolster the rights of women and trade unions. Ankara has been lagging far behind Zagreb in its EU progress in part due to poor relations with EU member Cyprus, with whom it still has to fully implement a customs agreement. Progress is also slow due to a lack of enthusiasm on the part of several member states for Turkish membership and the pace of Turkish domestic reform.

Of the remaining five entities - Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo - that want to join the EU, Mr Rehn had the most to say about Bosnia and Herzegovina. The war-torn country was recently given an ultimatum by the EU and the US to sort out internal problems between Bosnian Muslims, Croats and Serbs by 20 October. Defining the country as of "paramount importance for the region and for the European Union," Mr Rehn said that Bosnia and Herzegovina could only consider an application for EU membership once it "can stand on its own two feet." "No quasi-protectorate can join the EU," he said, spelling out that the Office of High Representative would have to be closed down first. The post was created as part of the peace deal that ended the 1992-1995 war in the country, and can only be closed after a positive international assessment. Meanwhile, the Serbian government, which is being pushed to arrest two war crimes suspects from the 1990s, was praised for being "stable" and "demonstrating" a high degree of consensus on EU integration as a strategic priority." But even as the EU tries to bind all of the countries of the western Balkans and Turkey ever more closely through political and economic ties and the promise of eventual membership, there are continuous doubts about whether it has the political appetite to go through with another large round of expansion. Apart from Croatia, strongly supported by Germany and where EU membership is virtually assured, internal EU question marks remain over the rest.

The European Commission (EC) last week gave a thumbs-up to Serbia's implementation of European standards on the road to EU membership and called on the Union to implement its Interim Trade Agreement with Serbia. Serbia signed the accord and the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU in April 2008. Both agreements were suspended pending Serbia's full co-operation with The Hague tribunal. Currently, the only EU member blocking the Interim Trade Agreement is the Netherlands, which demands that fugitive Ratko Mladic be apprehended and extradited.

Serbia, however, still has some work to do. The country must take a more constructive stance on Kosovo, pass the Vojvodina Statute, combat corruption and crime, continue with judiciary reforms, enhance the rights of minorities, and help bring those that attack journalists, human rights activists and members of the gay and lesbian population to justice. Tomislav Nikolic, leader of the Serbian Progressive Party, also noted that European officials reprimanded Serbia's excessive budget spending, adding that if the trend continues, "Serbia will be heavily indebted with no advantage of becoming an EU member." Tanja Miscevic, head of the Serbian EU Integration Office from 2005 to 2008, also expressed restraint in assessing the report.

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EU countries have agreed to proceed with Albania's application for membership of the European Union, a first step in a long process towards possible membership of the bloc, EU diplomats said.

Background: Albania applied for EU membership in April 2009. In July, the EU Council stated that it would return to the country's application once the Albanian election procedure had been completed. Ever since the June national elections, the two main players, the governing Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the Socialist party and main challenger Edi Rama have kept on accusing each other of fraud (EurActiv 30/06/09).  In its latest report on Albania, the European Commission stressed that Tirana needs to make progress, particularly on the rule of law and the fight against corruption, as well as the proper functioning of state institutions ( EurActiv 15/10/09). 

Ambassadors from the 27 EU states decided at a meeting in Brussels to ask the European Commission to prepare an assessment of Albania's readiness to start membership talks, the diplomats said.  The decision is expected to be formally approved by EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels on 16 and 17 November. 

Fule called on the Serbian authorities to increase their efforts in conducting the reforms necessary to get a positive opinion on Serbia's EU membership application.

He named eight priorities in the process: justice reform, fight against organized crime and corruption, changes to electoral legislation, making sure regulatory bodies function efficiently, property rights, human rights, regional cooperation and cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

BRUSSELS, June 22 (Reuters) - After years of ambivalence about new members, European Union policymakers are hoping Croatia's accession to the 27-nation bloc will persuade other aspirants that democratic reforms reap dividends. The ambition is that Croatia's progress will show the western Balkans that the EU is still willing to grow and quell concerns that "enlargement fatigue" -- rife since the global economic crisis made Europeans wary about the cost of expansion -- means reform efforts are futile.

But Zagreb may now be days away from completing its entry talks and EU leaders are set to give a go-ahead to its accession at a summit on Thursday and Friday. EU officials say the leap was made possible by an intense reform push that proved the country of 4.4 million people was serious about fighting widespread corruption.