Albania needs a boost in its bid to join the European Union, but there are benefits for EU members too.
By ANDI BALLA
There appears to be a concerted effort in the last month by the Albanian government to present not only the benefits Albania would get from integration in the European Union, but also to focus on the benefits EU member states would get from having Albania join the bloc.
These efforts are a positive development. EU integration is often mistakenly seen as an one-way street, particularly in how the skeptics and Europeans that are afraid of enlargement see it: A poor country like Albania, with a checkered past, joining the EU would be a burden to EU taxpayers, economies and labour markets.
It is understandable why these views are held by many in Germany, France, UK, Netherlands and Denmark, the EU members that held Albania back from becoming an official EU candidate last December, saying they wanted more time to evaluate the new government.
These perceptions are misguided, however. In fact there is a powerful economic argument to be made that the EU is already benefiting from the Albania and those benefits would only increase once the country becomes a full member.
Even if Albania is not yet in the European Union, the EU is already in Albania. In addition to EU members with obvious and large economic ties to Albania — such as Italy, Austria and Greece — which have voiced constant support for moving Albania’s bid forward, the truth is that there are already benefits for countries that are more sceptical of Albania’s progress. German companies run the only international airport and own a large share in one of the largest wireless phone companies. The French are in the banking sector. The Dutch have a massive stake in oil exploration. The British are invested in cell phone companies and pharmaceuticals. And you can order a good Danish beer (or five) in every corner of Albania.
Albania’s market and economy are small, but they have potential, and they can only grow to benefit businesses from EU member states that can make use of the country’s geographically-close affordable labour force and unique set of natural resources.
All these, of course, are lost in the small print that comes with headlines about organized crime and corruption, which are problems that do exist and must be dealt with. But they are not the only story about Albania, and Europeans must be helped to understand that.
We don’t have clear data on how common citizens from the wealthy northwestern member states would feel about Albania joining the bloc. But with its bad image problem, Albania would probably not fare well. Nonetheless the decision on the status at this time must be taken by the political elites of the EU and its member states. And these elites know very well that there are benefits to the EU, as well as Albania, with integration.
But there does need to be more clarity given to the EU public and its political representatives that Albania joining the EU will not harm European taxpayers. In addition, it must be made clear that the term “candidate” means little in term of impact on EU citizens. Many mistakenly believe membership would be eminent, when, in fact, it is a decade or more away and subject to thousands of other checkpoints in the negotiation process.
In addition to economic incentives, the EU at this time needs to also focus on the geopolitical outlook in the region, as the Western Balkans are now surrounded by the EU members, but still sitting outside the bloc.
If events in Ukraine prove one thing, it is that support for the EU stances is not guaranteed, even in the Balkans, where countries have placed EU membership as a goal above all else. While Tirana has offered unquestioning support for Brussels on the matter, joining a common statement and sanctions against Russia’s actions in Crime, Serbia was not nearly as accommodating. “Serbia will never join any kind of sanctions against Russia because it is not only a friendly country, an economic and political partner, but a country that never introduced sanctions against Serbia,” Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic told a Serb newspaper recently. For the record, Serbia is a candidate country that has already opened negotiations for membership with the EU. It means Belgrade is now two steps ahead of Tirana in the process.
Albania needs a boost in its bid to join the European Union. Anything other granting the status in June and opening negotiations soon after would not only hurt Albania, but also damage the potential benefits EU member states have from having Albania inside the bloc sooner rather than later.
