RECOM Initiative included in Enlargement Strategy and European Commission Reports

On October 12, 2011, the European Commission adopted its annual review of the Enlargement Strategy and progress the Western Balkan countries, Turkey and Iceland made ​​toward their EU membership in the past year. For this purpose, a document titled The Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2011-2012 was published along with individual reports on the progress each country in the region has made. There is a separate analytical report on Serbia.

The Enlargement Strategy sets the goals for the coming period and summarizes the candidates’ progress for membership in the European Union. Progress reports represent an appendix to the Enlargement Strategy in which the European Commission bodies assess the extent of progress the countries have made with regard to the process of European integration. Once again, these documents voice support to the Initiative for RECOM as an important element of progress.

Section 2.3 of The Enlargement Strategy, entitled “Enhancing regional cooperation and reconciliation in the Western Balkans,” specifies that the European Commission is closely monitoring these activities as they are essential for the stability and membership in the European Union. “Initiatives by NGOs and civil society, such as […] the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (RECOM) […] play an important role in enhancing reconciliation beyond governments among the citizens of the region,” says the document.

Section 1.3 of the analytical report on Serbia, titled “Regional issues and international obligations,” notes the importance of regional cooperation and good neighborly relations. The report makes a positive assessment of Serbia, stating that “Serbia supports the RECOM initiative on reconciliation.”

The official political support to the Initiative for RECOM is highlighted in section 2.3 of the report on the progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo, where it is emphasized that each of these countries “continues to actively support  […] the RECOM Initiative.”