Update: Increased EU Membership – Foreign Affairs 7th October, 2014

Question No. 436

Parliamentary Question – Oireachtas
　
To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which progress continues to encourage EU membership throughout the western Balkans; the countries that have so far achieved progress in the acquis communautaire; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
– Bernard J. Durkan.
* For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 7th October, 2014.
Ref No: 38228/14 Proof: 496
Question No. 437
Parliamentary Question – Oireachtas 　
To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which progress continues towards EU enlargement with particular reference to the countries currently in the process and proposed; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
– Bernard J. Durkan.
* For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 7th October, 2014.
Ref No: 38229/14 Proof: 497

REPLY
(PQ to be taken by Minister of State Dara Murphy)

I propose to take questions 436 and 437 together.
Ireland has long been a strong supporter of the Enlargement process. Enlargement is generally seen as one of the most successful foreign policy initiatives of the European Union.
In this context, we welcome the nomination of Johannes Hahn as Commissioner Designate for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations and wish him well in his new role.   He has made clear that there will be “no standstill in our activities €“ quite the contrary”.
Accordingly, we hope to see active progress on the Enlargement portfolio during the tenure of the next Commission.
For Ireland, it is important to work intensively to advance the accession process with the current candidates and potential candidates, particularly with a view to overcoming the legacy of recent conflicts in the Western Balkans.
The EU enlargement process is founded on the Copenhagen criteria, which reflect the EU’s founding values: peace, democracy, the rule of law, respect for fundamental rights, and a functioning market economy. Enlargement is a conditional process: prospective member states must achieve progress on reforms in order to move forward on their EU paths.
The European Commission actively supports the reform process by preparing annual country progress reports, which outline the extent to which the candidate and potential candidate countries have advanced to reach the necessary standard to join the EU. This year’s reports are due to be published on 8 October. They will be examined in detail by all Member States, including Ireland, at official level, prior to consideration at the General Affairs Council in December.    
As regards individual countries, following Croatia’s accession on 1 July 2013, there are six candidate countries: Turkey, Iceland, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania. In addition, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo are potential candidate countries.
Turkey was granted Candidate status by the European Council in December 1999 and the European Council agreed to begin accession negotiations in December 2004. Fourteen out of thirty-five Chapters have been opened and are now under negotiation.
Montenegro began accession negotiations in June 2012 and twelve negotiating Chapters are now open, of which two have been provisionally closed.
The European Union began accession negotiations with Serbia on 21 January 2014, and since then, the screening process has been on-going. This process is designed to determine the extent of Serbian alignment with the acquis communautaire. A major focus of negotiations ahead will be on the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo.
Association negotiations with Iceland remain suspended following a decision of the Icelandic Government in early 2013.
Macedonia was granted Candidate Status in 2005 but it has yet to open accession negotiations, pending a resolution of the name dispute with Greece.
Albania was granted Candidate Status in June 2014. Ireland supported this step as a signal of positive encouragement to the Albanian Government, and the region as a whole, to maintain reform momentum.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has not yet formally applied for EU membership and thus remains a potential candidate country. In recent years, Bosnia has been working to develop an EU coordination mechanism and to revise its complex power-sharing structures to facilitate the participation of minorities in political life.
Kosovo has continued negotiations with the European Commission on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), the first step on the EU accession path.   The SAA was initialled in July and future steps will be further discussed this autumn.
Ireland looks forward to working with each country in support of their respective paths to EU membership.