European Union (Definition of Treaties) (Stabilisation and Association Agreement) (Republic of Serbia) Order 2011

My Lords, the stabilisation and association agreement is a mechanism that has developed to cope with the many problems of the states in the former Yugoslavia. The international agreement between Serbia and the European Communities and its member states was signed on 29 April 2008. The treaty has not yet entered into force but will do so once Serbia, the EU and all 27 member states have approved it in accordance with their own procedures. Fourteen EU member states have ratified the SAA so far, as well as Serbia, which ratified on 9 September 2008. With regard to the EU ratification, the European Parliament gave its consent on 19 January this year and a further unanimous Council decision will be required in order for the EU to conclude the SAA. The order is a necessary step towards the UK’s ratification of the SAA as it will provide for implementation of the SAA as an EU treaty. The principal effect of the draft order is: first, to ensure that the powers under Section 2 of the European Communities Act 1972 will be available to give legal effect to any necessary provisions of the agreement; and, secondly, to permit any expenditure arising from the SAA to be charged on and issued out of the Consolidated Fund. Enlargement has been one of the European Union’s biggest success stories, enabling stability, security and prosperity across our continent. The prospect of EU membership was an important factor in supporting the peaceful transition to democracies in Greece, Spain, Portugal and central and eastern Europe. It is a vital tool in helping us to spread our values and freedoms. A larger EU promotes business and our economy by providing access to a bigger market with reduced trade barriers. However, enlargement must be based upon conditionality. A country may join the EU only once it has met all the criteria for membership and has undertaken the necessary reforms to do so. That applies to Serbia and all western Balkans countries, as it does elsewhere. Serbia must adapt to the required EU conditions, not the other way round. The implementation of the SAA is an important step in the fulfilment of that conditionality. The SAA recognises Serbia as a ““potential candidate”” for the EU. It is not a reward; instead it is an instrument to enable Serbia to move forwards. It sets out key objective political and economic criteria which Serbia must meet. That progress towards eventual EU membership is regularly monitored via a closer partnership with the EU, under the EU’s stabilisation and association process. A track record of SAA implementation is one of the requirements for Serbia to move further towards achieving full candidate status. Full, effective, and transparent implementation of democracy and the rule of law is an example of the criteria that Serbia will have to meet as an essential condition of the SAA, and for eventual EU membership. Others include good co-operation on regional issues with its neighbours and international obligations, conformity with common human rights law including the protection of minorities, and full co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia—the ICTY. I underline that last point. Serbia’s interim agreement and SAA were signed by EU member states at the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 29 April 2008. However, a decision was taken at the same time to block the implementation of the interim agreement and the ratification procedures of the SAA pending member states’ assessment that Serbia was fully co-operating with the ICTY. Following successive positive reports from the ICTY’s Chief Prosecutor Brammertz, member states agreed to proceed with SAA ratification at the European Council in June 2010. The UK’s assessment is that Serbia is still continuing to co-operate fully with the ICTY, as confirmed by Chief Prosecutor Brammertz’s latest report in December last year. We are therefore content that the UK should proceed with ratification. Since the conflicts of the 1990s, Serbia has made significant progress, particularly in establishing good relations with its neighbours. This needs to continue. The draw of European integration will continue to be a crucial factor in motivating and enabling Serbian political leaders to continue to agree and implement the necessary reforms and to continue with the process of reconciliation with the rest of the region. The European Union without the western Balkans would for ever have a disillusioned and disenchanted hole near its centre. I am satisfied that the order is compatible with the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights. I beg to move.