The Stabilization and Association Process (SAP)
The potential Western Balkan accession candidates
Since the Feira European Council (June 2000) all Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo) have held the status of "potential accession candidates" (confirmed in Thessaloniki in June 2003). Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were granted "candidate country" status, and accession negotiations with Croatia have already begun.
As early as 1999 the EU offered the Balkan countries, under certain conditions, a closer relationship, and indeed possible association with the EU, as part of the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP). This is an instrument, with conditions, which allows the Western Balkan countries, through individual reforms, to themselves dictate the pace of drawing closer to the EU (the "own merits" principle).
The Stabilization and Association Process
The signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with both Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in April and June 2008 means that SAAs have now been concluded with all Western Balkan countries (apart from Kosovo). Nonetheless, these countries must overcome further barriers on their road to Europe. The pace at which they move closer to the EU will continue to be determined by the pace of their political and economic reforms, as well as their ability to translate the EU acquis into national law and take full account of its rights and obligations.
The Stabilization and Association Process (SAP)
The SAP is mainly based on three pillars:
- the offer of attractive political and economic incentives, including a closer relationship with and, in the long term, integration into the EU;
- the Western Balkan countries' obligation to undertake comprehensive reforms;
- the emphasis on the need for intensive regional cooperation.
During the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Thessaloniki in June 2003 the EU underlined once again the membership prospects of the above-mentioned countries and reminded them of the need to undertake their own efforts and fulfil all obligations into which they had entered. The Thessaloniki European Council on 20 June 2003 adopted a catalogue of measures ("The Thessaloniki Agenda for the Western Balkans") aimed specifically at strengthening the SAP. It also created the "European Partnerships", which identify tasks/priorities for these countries so as to support their efforts to draw closer to the EU (see also Helping countries prepare for accession) The countries are then supposed to develop their own national action programmes to implement these tasks/priorities.
At their meeting with the Western Balkan countries in Salzburg on 11 March 2006 the EU Foreign Ministers reaffirmed that the future of these countries lay in Europe and agreed that the SAP had to be strengthened, while at the same time recalling the need to consider the EU's absorption/integration capacity.
On 1 January 2007 the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) (see also "Helping countries prepare for accession") replaced various EU pre-accession/enlargement mechanisms; these programmes, however, distinguish between "potential accession candidates" and "candidate countries". IPA funding for the Western Balkan countries between 2007 and 2010 will amount to approx. 2.7 billion euro; the funding will increase annually, also beyond 2010. Here the IPA replaces the CARDS (Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stability) programme as the SAP's financial instrument. Between 2000 and 2006 CARDS provided financing for projects totalling 4.6 billion euro. IPA
The IPA's focuses are on institution-building, democratization, economic and social development and regional and cross-border cooperation; accession candidates are also helped in their efforts to incorporate the EU acquis and to prepare for the allocation of Structural Fund and European Agricultural Guidance funding.
The EU's objectives in the Western Balkans
- Stabilization of the neighbouring region, and in the long term integration into EU structures/prospect of membership;
- support for reconstruction and for the necessary political, economic, legal and administrative reforms;
- implementation by these countries of a consistent reform policy.
A multi-stage pre-accession process
In its strategy paper on enlargement dated 9 November 2005 the Commission spelt out in a "road map" for the Western Balkan states the line begun by former Enlargement Commissioner Verheugen in October 2004, with the introduction of "benchmarks" for the opening/closing of chapters.
This "road map" divides the process leading to the opening of accession negotiations into six steps, and a country can only reach the next step after fulfilling all the obligations of the previous step. One important step in that process is the conclusion of a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), which alongside economic association envisages the assumption by the country concerned of parts of the acquis and cooperation in numerous policy fields.
Commissioner Verheugen's successor, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, has since taking office made the "three Cs" policy Consolidation, conditionality, communication the basis of the current enlargement process.
Last updated 07.04.2009