U.S.-EU Cooperation in the Balkans

The United States and the European Union share the goal of integrating the Balkan countries into Euro-Atlantic structures, as reaffirmed at the 2004 NATO summit in Istanbul and EU's summit in Thessaloniki in 2003. The values of democracy, the rule of law, respect for human and minority rights, and a market economy constitute the foundations of the Euro-Atlantic community. The pace of integration lies in the hands of the countries of the region.

The U.S. strongly supports the EU’s position that the future of the countries of the Balkans is within the European Union. The framework for the EU’s approach to South East Europe – the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP) – offers these countries the long-term prospect of full integration into EU structures. The EU's assistance program, Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation (CARDS), supports the countries in pursuing their objectives under the SAP. The EU has allocated €4.65 billion (around $ 6.05 billion) in its framework for the period 2002-2006. For the period 2002-2005, the U.S. has budgeted $2.1 billion in assistance.

The U.S. and the EU have been working closely together for the last ten years to stabilize and prevent further conflict in the Balkans:

• In Kosovo, the U.S. and the EU continue to work closely together in the Contact Group, as we engage jointly with the UN-led international civilian presence in Kosovo (UNMIK), and with the NATO-led mission in Kosovo (KFOR). Our goal is to build a multiethnic Kosovo, where all inhabitants, regardless of ethnicity, can live in peace and security. This will be possible only if the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) implement the internationally-endorsed standards for Kosovo. A comprehensive review of progress on standards is underway, and a positive assessment will make possible a process to address future status with Belgrade and Pristina.
  
  
• In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the U.S. continues to strongly support the work of the UN High Representative. Ten years after the tragedy of Srebrenica, we call on all parties to undertake the reforms necessary to ensure a peaceful, democratic, and prosperous future in the Euro-Atlantic community. On December 2, 2004, the NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) came to a successful conclusion. The people of Bosnia have welcomed a continued international security presence as they take the remaining steps on the path of reform. The EU has established a military mission, Operation Althea, to help with stability during this crucial period. The arrangements between NATO and EU under the Berlin Plus framework have harnessed the energies of both organizations and made clear the international community’s continuing commitment.
  
  
• In Macedonia, the U.S. and EU remain committed to helping the government to finalize implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement that ended the 2001 insurgency.

Providing justice for war crimes is a legal, political and moral imperative. The U.S. and the EU fully support the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The U.S. and the EU recognize recent progress in the region and support all relevant resolutions by the Security Council on the Tribunal, including UN Security Council resolution 1534, citing in particular the importance of transferring Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic and Ante Gotovina to face justice in The Hague. The U.S. and the EU have called on all parties to meet their international obligations to fully cooperate with the Tribunal as a condition for their full integration into Euro-Atlantic structures.

The U.S. and the EU also are working closely together in different fora for regional cooperation. Examples for this are our joint engagement in the framework of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe and in the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP). We also support cooperative endeavors of the countries themselves, including the "Adriatic Charter" of Albania, Croatia and Macedonia and in the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP).