ECA report on EU support for the rule of law in the Western Balkans
- Publication on 10 January at 5.00 p.m. CET
- Press briefing under embargo at 11.00 a.m. (RSVP)
- One-on-one interviews available on request
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) would like to invite you to a virtual press briefing on its upcoming special report on the EU’s support for the rule of law in the Western Balkans. It will be held in English and under embargo on Monday 10 January at 11.00 a.m. CET.
The purpose of the briefing is to give you the opportunity to gain a detailed overview of the audit and to put its conclusions and recommendations into context. It will also give you the chance to discuss the report with ECA member Juhan Parts.
RSVP: We would appreciate it if you would let us know by 1.00 p.m. on Friday 7 January whether you intend to take part in the virtual briefing; we will then send you detailed instructions on how to connect.
In the Western Balkans, Slovenia (since 2004) and Croatia (since 2013) are now EU Member States. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia are not EU members, but all of them aspire to join. However, the enlargement procedure is taking far longer than any previous such negotiations.
The Western Balkans receive financing from several sources, but the EU is the region’s biggest donor. EU financial assistance is mainly channelled through the Instrument for Pre-accession (IPA II). The rule of law is one of its nine priority sectors.
The EU auditors have assessed whether EU support for rule-of-law reforms in the Western Balkans has been effective. In particular, they have analysed the EU’s contributions to the “rule of law” components of the justice and the judiciary, anti-corruption measures and human rights sections of the accession process.
More information on this audit can be found here.
To allow an informed discussion, confirmed participants can receive an embargo copy of the report and press release upon request ahead of the briefing. Both documents will be published on the ECA’s website eca.europa.eu the same day, on 10 January at 5.00 p.m. CET.
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence
