The General Report is presented annually by the Commission to the European Parliament to provide a general picture of EU activities over the past year.

Some interesting excerpts from the report regarding the WB and SEE region:

Regional cooperation in south-east Europe (SEE)

Significant progress was achieved in regional cooperation in SEE and steps were taken that contributed to regional reconciliation. Cooperation within specific sectors also advanced, including in the Energy Community and the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA). The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) started the implementation of its strategy and work programme 2011–13, which had been elaborated with the help of the EU. There is still a need to ensure the inclusiveness of regional cooperation, notably with respect to the participation of Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) in regional initiatives.

Pre-accession assistance

In 2011, the overall allocation to the enlargement countries (including Iceland for the first time) from the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) amounted to €1.74 billion, including multi-beneficiary assistance. This compares with €1.539 billion in 2010 and €1.494 billion in 2009. By the end of 2011, preaccession assistance allocated to those countries since 2007 added up to a total of €7.461 billion. Assistance given to candidate countries and potential candidates in 2011, including both national and cross-border cooperation programmes:

IPA 2011 allocations (in current prices; million €)

• Albania 94.43
• Bosnia and Herzegovina 107.43
• Croatia 156.53
• Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 98.03
• Iceland 12.00
• Kosovo 68.70
• Montenegro 34.15
• Serbia 201.88
• Turkey 779.90
• Multi-beneficiary programme (*) 186.27
• Total 1 739.32

(*) Allocation for transition assistance and institution building, excluding cross-border cooperation. Assistance to the Turkish Cypriot community for social and economic development in 2011 was €28 million.