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In talks with countries that have expressed a wish to join the European Union, the EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in that country. In exchange, the country may be offered tariff-free access to some or all EU markets (industrial goods, agricultural products, etc.), and financial or technical assistance.

Overview

Stabilisation and Association agreements are part of the EU Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) and European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). At present, the countries of the Western Balkans are the focus of the SAP. Specific Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA) have been implemented with various Balkan countries which explicitly include provisions for future EU membership of the country involved. SAAs are similar in principle to the Europe Agreements signed with the Central and Eastern European countries in the 1990s and to the Association Agreement with Turkey.

SAAs are based mostly on the EU's acquis communautaire and predicated on its promulgation in the cooperating states legislation. The depth of the policy harmonization expected by SAA is less than for EU member states; some policy areas in the Acquis may not be covered by a given SAA.

The EU's relations with the Western Balkans states were moved from the "External Relations" to the "Enlargement" policy segment in 2005. As of 2022, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia are officially recognized as candidates for membership. Kosovo is not recognised as a candidate country, but as a potential candidate.

As of April 2016, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia have SAA's in force. Croatia formerly had a SAA, but it lapsed when they acceded to the EU in 2013.

The agreement with Kosovo was the first signed after the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty, which conferred a legal personality to the EU. As a result, an EU representative in Kosovo explained that "unlike SAA with other countries of the region, this one will be exclusively the EU agreement. The EU will co-sign it as a legal entity." The agreement did not need to be individually ratified by each member state, some of which have not recognized the independence of Kosovo. The representative went on to say that "since Kosovo is not recognized by the five member states, we had to issue a directive saying that the signing of the agreement will not signify that the EU or any of the countries recognize Kosovo as a state."

Stabilisation and Association Process

N/A: Not applicable.

1. Montenegro started negotiations in November 2005 while a part of Serbia and Montenegro (SiM). Separate technical negotiations were conducted regarding issues of sub-state organizational competency. A mandate for direct negotiations with Montenegro was established in July 2006. Direct negotiations were initiated on 26 September 2006 and concluded on 1 December 2006.
2. Serbia started negotiations in November 2005 while part of SiM, with a modified mandate from July 2006.
3. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but is still claimed by Serbia as part of its territory. The European Union remains divided, with five EU member states not recognizing its independence. The EU launched a Stabilisation Tracking Mechanism for Kosovo] on 6 November 2002 with the aim of aligning its policy with EU standards. On 10 October 2012 the European Commission found that there were no legal obstacles to Kosovo signing a SAA with the EU, as independence is not required for such an agreement.
4. ^ No Interim Agreement associated with Kosovo's SAA was concluded.
5. Kosovo's SAA was the first signed after the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty, which conferred a legal personality to the EU. As a result, unlike previous SAAs Kosovo's is exclusively between it and the EU and Euratom, and the member states are not parties independently.

See also

• Future enlargement of the European Union
• European Neighbourhood Policy
• European Union Association Agreement
• Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (SP for SEE)
• Central European Free Trade Agreement
• SAp country statistics
• Southeast Europe Transport Community
• Rules of Origin
• Market access
• Free-trade area
• Tariffs

References

1. "Enlargement: Pre Acceding Countries & Candidate countries: Potential Candidate Countries". European Union. Archived from the original on 23 February 2006.
2. "Stabilisation and Association Agreement negotiations successfully completed". European External Action Service. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
3. "EU starts the Stabilisation and Association Agreement negotiations with Kosovo". European Commission. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
4. ^ "Kosovo to negotiate on Stabilisation and Association Agreement". 27 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
5. "Kosovo Launches Crucial SAA Talks With EU". Balkan Insight. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
6. "SAA Agreement with Macedonia". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
7. "SAA Agreement with Croatia". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
8. "SAA Agreement with Albania". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
9. "SAA Agreement with Montenegro". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
10. "EU, Montenegro complete negotiations on pre-membership deal to bring country closer to bloc". International Herald Tribune. The Associated Press. 1 December 2006. Archived from the original on 25 September 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
11. "SAA Agreement with Bosnia". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
12. "SAA Agreement with Serbia". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
13. "SAA Agreement with Kosovo*". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
14. "Feasibility Study for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and Kosovo*" (PDF). European Commission. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
15. ^ "EU starts the Stabilisation and Association Agreement negotiations with Kosovo". European Commission. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
16. "Stabilization and Association Agreement is initialled". Ministry of European Integration of the Republic of Kosovo. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
17. "Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and Kosovo signed". European Commission. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
18. "Kosovo to negotiate on Stabilisation and Association Agreement". 27 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
19. "Stabilisation and Association Agreement negotiations successfully completed". European External Action Service. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
20. "Kosovo Launches Crucial SAA Talks With EU". Balkan Insight. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
21. "Information relating to the entry into force of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and Kosovo (*), of the other part". EUR-Lex. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.

External links

• European Commission Website

• Instruments and programmes related to European Union enlargement
• Treaties entered into by the European Union