Case of Montenegro: Is WTO Membership Precondition for Opening of EU Accession Negotiations with Western Balkans Countries?

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European Perspectives – Journal on European Perspectives of the Western Balkans Vol. 2, No. 1, pp 17-36, April 2010 Case of Montenegro: Is WTO Membership Precondition for Opening of EU Accession Negotiations with Western Balkans Countries?

Gordana Djurović1

ABSTRACT The European Union has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995. The 27 member States of the EU are also WTO members in their own right, but the European Commission, speaks for all EU member States at almost all WTO meetings (strong single voice). The eleven of twelve countries of fifth en- largement of the EU were WTO members before opening the EU negotiations, except Lithuania, which allowed them fluent EU integration process. Croatia and Albania became WTO members in 2000 and FYROM in 2003. After 2005, only four countries acceded to WTO, out of which two countries are less developed (LDCs). Cape Verde acceded on 23 July 2008. WTO has today 153 member states. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro, poten- tial candidate countries for EU with signed Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), are still WTO observer countries and in the exhausting process of WTO accession. Kosovo still considers submission of application for observer status. Mapping WTO in the western Balkans region today is becoming an outstanding issue and may cause delay in future European integration process. Good example, which, in a certain degree, could con- firm this thesis, is case of WTO accession process of Montenegro being blocked by only one outstanding bilateral negotiation with Ukraine. As a conclusion, WTO related issues, including full-fledged WTO membership, are closely connected with implementation of SAA obligations, and next integration steps towards EU. In case that remaining the western Balkans countries do not conclude negotiations, i.e. do not become WTO members, European Union will consider possibility of opening EU accession negotiations, even if countries fulfil all conditions for that. Would the European Union be ready to assume such risk?

KEY WORDS: WTO membership, WTO accession process, trade liberalization, EU accession negotiations, Montenegro, Ukraine;

1 Correspondence Address: prof. Gordana Djurović, Ph.D. Faculty of Economics, University of Montenegro, Jovana Tomaševića 37, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro, e-mail: gordana.djurovic@ gov.me. ISSN 1855-7694 © 2010 European Perspectives, UDK: 327 (4)