Balkan Progress Slow, EU Commission Says

A senior EU source said the European Commission Progress Reports for 2014 on the Western Balkans, due out on Wednesday, would mainly highlight failings in the fields of the rule of law, corruption, fundamental rights such as freedom of expression as well as threats to the independence of the media.

Each of the countries concerned will have a lot of work to do in order meet the EU criteria and so continue on the path to membership, he said.

"Stefan Fuele's successor will have a lot of things to do in his mandate" he said, referring to the outgoing Enlargement Commissioner and his successor, Austria's Johannes Hahn.

Each year, the Commission issues individual reports on the Western Balkan states alongside its Enlargement Strategy Paper, which charts the way forward for the coming year.

Starting with politically divided Albania, the source said a culture of cooperation needed to be rebuilt between the opposition and the ruling parties.

In neighbouring Kosovo, he said the stalemate in parliament since the last general elections, which has prevented the election of a speaker and the formation of a new government, is another area of concern.

Kosovo is due to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement, for which talks started in October 2013 - the first stage towards eventual EU membership.

Turning to Kosovo's external relations, the same source said the report will urge the governments of Kosovo and Serbia to become more engaged in the EU-led dialogue on the normalization of ties, both in terms of implementing already reached agreements and also in opening new topics.  

Turning to Macedonia, the source said its upcoming Progress Report will not suggest that Brussels withdraw the Commission's...