European Communities (Definition of Treaties) (Stabilisation and Association Agreement) (Republic of Montenegro) Order 2009

I thank noble Lords for their questions, to which I shall attempt to respond. The issue of the rule of law ran through much of what has been said, relating to organised crime, corruption and how we anticipate this being managed in the negotiations. As I said in my opening remarks, the EU accession process is rigorous, condition-based, and not time-bound. Before accession negotiations begin, justice and home affairs issues are front-loaded in the SAA process. Many noble Lords will be aware that we learnt that lesson from the Bulgarian and Romanian accession process, which was subsequently adapted to comprise a more rigorous assessment process to ensure that candidate countries absolutely meet the criteria for membership. The EU has designated a significant chapter of the negotiations to the judiciary and to fundamental rights. That is important, as noble Lords said. This means that issues falling within this area will be much more thoroughly scrutinised than was the case in the past. On the related issue of people trafficking and organised crime, I re-emphasise that the accession track is rigorously condition-based. That applies to Montenegro even at this stage of the process; people do not always realise that it applies at this stage. Before Montenegro can open accession negotiations, it needs to demonstrate a track record of SAA implementation, as well as obtaining a positive opinion from the European Commission. We need to recognise that we have learnt lessons from previous accessions, and the introduction of the chapter on justice and the rule of law is very important. The Commission will now have to consider its response and form an opinion on the avis. We expect this to take several months. I turn to the issue of the Schengen visa. As we know, the UK is not part of Schengen. The agreement applies to Schengen countries to liberalise visas for Montenegro, so that does not apply to the United Kingdom. However, the UK will be reviewing Montenegro’s visa requirements in 2011. Russia’s relationship with Montenegro is a good one; it is a very popular holiday destination for the Russians. I have no concerns to draw to the attention of Members on this issue at this time. I understand that there has been a satisfactory level of co-operation with the ICTY, and there are no outstanding issues. The noble Lord, Lord Ashdown, raised a question on how it reached its estimation: it is based on having satisfactory reports from Prosecutor Brammertz’s office in the ICTY—as the Committee knows, that is very important—and on our own diplomatic reporting on the matters. Are there wanted war criminals in Montenegro? We have not been given to suspect the existence of any indicted criminals in that country. The noble Lord, Lord Ashdown, also raised the issue of the Prime Minister. I am aware that there have been allegations linking the Prime Minister to organised crime and corruption; I understand these relate to the 1990s—I am sure noble Lords are well aware of the circumstances—when the country was subject to international sanctions. However, I am not aware of any connections which give us reason to doubt his Government’s willingness to improve their record in tackling corruption and organised crime. Their willingness seems strong, such is their seriousness in beginning this process towards, hopefully, accession. Indeed, I also understand that a case against him in the Italian courts has recently been dropped. The Government strongly support the European perspective on Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the part it has played in encouraging politicians to agree on necessary reforms. The UK supports the goal of transition from the OHR to the EU special representative. However, I was there myself in the early summer and we consistently stated then, and continue to do so now, that this can only happen when the 5+2 objectives and conditions required for transition have been fully completed. I agree we must stick very firmly to that position. We continue to urge Bosnian politicians to seize the opportunity presented by the EU-US initiative to reach agreement on completing these 5+2 objectives and conditions. The Foreign Secretary visited Sarajevo in November, and urged Bosnian politicians to focus on making the reforms necessary for the closure of the Office of the High Representative, which would facilitate clearer movements towards EU integration. I turn to the issue of regional co-operation. It is significant that Montenegro recognised the independence of Kosovo on 9 October 2008: that is a signal of its seriousness in trying to be an effective and co-operative regional actor. We also recognise that the latest progress report we have seen mentions regional initiatives and efforts as significant, welcome developments for the country.