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European Union assistance of 700 million euros to advance reforms aimed at the rule of law in the Western Balkans has had very little impact, according to a report published by the European Court of Auditors these days.
During 2014-2020, the European Union disbursed an amount of 690 million euros to strengthen the rule of law in the Western Balkans, where the biggest beneficiaries were Serbia and Albania with 246 and 134 million euros, respectively.
The European Court of Auditors noted that technical and operational reforms have been made in the region, but that there is a lack of political will and commitment to implement these reforms.
EU support has been insufficient to address ongoing problems in areas such as the independence of the judiciary, concentration of power, political interference and corruption, auditors say.
Albania, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia are candidates, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are potential candidates for EU membership. However, all of them continue to face problems related to the rule of law and fundamental rights. For more than two decades, the EU has tried to help them implement their reform agenda, but the situation has not improved, on the contrary.
The report published a table showing the quality of governance indicators in the Western Balkans. The graph below shows that Albania has the poorest quality of governance in the Region and is also last in the law enforcement index.
EU assistance focused on two areas, firstly financial support (amounting to around 700 million euros between 2014 and 2020) and secondly, political dialogue.
The Auditors’ Report noted that the EU has rarely used the instrument of suspension of assistance in cases where beneficiaries did not respect the basic principles of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights. The auditors note that EU support to civil society is insufficient to meet the needs of the sector and is mainly based on short-term projects.
The auditors recommended increasing support for civil society and journalists in the region, and also applying conditions for disbursing funds for legal reforms.
Many EU governments see the establishment of high democratic standards in the Western Balkans as important to the stability and security of the bloc itself, especially as the six countries in the region aspire to join the EU in the future.
The modest progress made over the last 20 years threatens the overall sustainability of the EU support offered in the accession process. Ongoing reforms lose credibility if they do not yield tangible results, the auditors said./Monitor
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