The Future of EU Enlargement

Earl of Sandwich Excerpts

Wednesday 26th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Sandwich]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his balanced introduction to the debate. It has been a pleasure to work on this report because it shows the European Commission at its very best. If we must have an EU referendum, surely the progressive enlargement of the European Union in the Balkans is one of the strongest arguments for a yes vote. The war in the former Yugoslavia is still a recent and bitter memory for the communities involved.

As the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, said, it is undeniable that there has been greater stability in Europe since the Kosovo war ended with the KFOR-Serbia treaty of June 1999 and the EU in its various forms took over responsibility. Every new member of the EU has benefited economically from trade within the EU —even more recently while the older member states have suffered recession. This debate is timely, not because the UK is quietly marking its ruby anniversary in the EU but because in a few days, as we all know, Croatia will become the latest example of enlargement as the 28th member of the Union, following Bulgaria and Romania.

Perhaps we can now dispense with the phrase “enlargement fatigue”, since more candidate states and even eastern neighbours, such as Ukraine, are in the pipeline to the EU, as the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, said. Perhaps this is a moment for us to congratulate the Ukrainian tennis player, Sergiy Stakhovsky, for conquering the long-term Wimbledon champion this evening. Yet the road to enlargement in most cases will be painfully slow and beset with obstacles, and some may never make it. Indeed, I believe, in the case of Turkey, EU membership may not be an ideal solution.

Kosovo, one of the potential candidates, which seems to have the furthest to travel, nevertheless at times symbolises the EU’s determination to move forward. Perhaps that is because, as the noble Lords, Lord Foulkes and Lord Hannay, said, it does not want to make the Cyprus mistake again. Peace in Kosovo today is one of the cornerstones of EU foreign policy, stoutly defended by the EEAS through various policy channels. It is a major EU project. In fact, it is the largest recipient of EU investment per head anywhere in the world. Quite apart from security guarantees, there is a huge human and financial investment in Kosovo’s future as Europe’s youngest independent country. Yet, for their own reasons, Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Slovakia and Romania are still refusing to recognise it. Even some of its neighbours—as I will mention later—will not invite it to their regional meetings.

Much depends on Serbia. As a result of a carefully crafted diplomatic effort over the last two years, an important agreement was reached—as the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, mentioned—between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels on 19 April. Indeed, an earlier agreement was announced by Commissioner Füle on the very day that the committee took evidence from him in Brussels. Just two more border points between Kosovo and Serbia had been established. I well remember the excitement in the Commission that yet another small but significant step had been achieved. Implementation followed in May. The noble Baroness, Lady Ashton, met Prime Ministers Dacic and Thaçi last Thursday and reported on Friday that the EEAS had reviewed the implementation plan and that there had been concrete progress and further agreements on justice, police and the forthcoming municipal elections. This is important detail and much is owed to the recent meeting of Serbia’s First Deputy Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vucic, with representatives of northern Kosovo Serbs in Belgrade. There, he commendably laid down the law to the four mayors and councillors.

The EU’s approach is nothing if not methodical and this seems to be achieving political results, which are remarkable when set against the violence of civil war only 15 years ago. Yet we know that, under the surface, the old rivalries are simmering. The worst forms of extortion and corruption can still be found as much within the KLF ex-combatants now in power in Kosovo as among the criminal mafia and the Serb no-go areas in the north. The EU is still, of course, backed by NATO in any emergencies such as shooting incidents in Mitrovica, but the key Copenhagen principles of the rule of law, human rights and democratic government are at stake.

On the rule of law, the EU has a long way to go and even, at times, appears to be losing the battle. The project known as EULEX, the biggest tool in the EU’s armoury, is failing to meet its objectives. The European Court of Auditors reported last October that its assistance had not been effective, as levels of organised crime and corruption in Kosovo remained high and the judiciary continued to suffer from political interference, inefficiency and a lack of transparency and enforcement. The court found that there had been no progress in establishing the rule of law in the north. That is a serious matter but the ECA report did not surprise the people of Kosovo, who for some time have watched the failure of the EU’s flagship project—which employs hundreds of judges, barristers, police and other officials. The UK has been one of the key investors, so can the Minister explain how this vital project has foundered? What action has been taken since to reform and rebuild the EULEX programme?

Beyond Kosovo and Serbia there have been many other concerns about justice and the rule of law in the region. The situation in Romania and Bulgaria has already been mentioned. Our report is another reminder that the co-operation and verification mechanism process used in those countries must come at the very beginning and not as an afterthought. That is also relevant, as has been said, to Kosovo and Serbia. Our report makes much of these processes and formulae such as the Copenhagen criteria. That reminds me that people working on EU issues must be careful not to use too much jargon or too many clever acronyms or we will be seen for what we are: an in-group with a temporary knowledge of EU institutions who speak a language only we can understand. Of course, I make a general point.

The committee also notes that the great fears expressed about the effects of enlargement on the Common Agricultural Policy turned out to be unnecessary. The proportion of agriculture in the EU has risen and is still rising with the accession of new members. The NFU and other witnesses have expressed concerns about lower standards of cultivation and flouting of health and safety, but these tendencies have not prevented a healthy trading partnership between old and new member states.

We must not forget that poverty persists in many areas of former Yugoslavia, including parts of Kosovo, where our DfID office has only recently closed, for a reason that I still cannot fathom. While Croatia is level with Hungary in terms of gross national income per head, at about $13,000, the average income in Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and even Serbia is less than half that, below $6,000 per head. Through the EEAS and the Commission, the EU sometimes has to fill the combined roles of a teacher and a nanny on local government or regional co-operation, and I wonder whether it has the necessary skills.

Take the fiasco of the Ohrid summit this month, for example. It was a regional meeting, scheduled for 1 and 2 June in the Macedonian beauty spot. The summit was cancelled after Albania and Croatia announced that they would not attend because Kosovo had not received an invitation, which was in clear breach of the April agreement. There is no point in having agreements if they are not implemented. Like it or not, the EEAS has to be sure not only that the parties follow them to the letter but that the neighbours do as well. This may be a tall order in the Balkans, but it is the litmus paper of the success of enlargement.

The balance of competence review is coming soon, we hope, and it will confirm that we are on the whole getting satisfaction in Europe. I trust that this understanding continues well beyond the next election.