TIRANA, June 9, 2022 – The European Union should make sure all of the Western Balkans is integrated into the bloc by 2033, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Friday, becoming the first EU leader to propose a concrete date for the successful end of a process that has crawled to a near halt in recent years.
“My message today is clear: In accordance with set criteria, let us offer the integration of all of the Western Balkans into the EU by 2033 — an ambitious but achievable timeline. This is long overdue. And the first step must be a decision in two weeks’ time in Brussels to unblock the path of North Macedonia and Albania,” Mitsotakis wrote in an op-ed piece for Politico.eu.
The comments come ahead of a major summit to be held in Thessaloniki as part of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), where EU’s top leaders and all regional leaders are expected to attend.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given a new sense of urgency to link Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia and Bosnia and Hercegovina closer to the 27 EU member states, in part to respond to the growing Russian and Chinese influence in the region.
“The Balkans, as many times before in its history, stands again on the frontline of competing spheres of influence — ominous tremors can be felt underneath the surface,” Mitsotakis wrote. “It is, therefore, time for the EU to be honest with itself and with the region.”
Two decades earlier, in 2003, also in Thessaloniki, the EU set the vision that would lead to the Western Balkans’ membership in the European family. “But in the almost 20 years that have passed, accession processes have increasingly become more elaborate and demanding, and the vision has become blurry, fading in the eyes of frustrated and disillusioned citizens,” he added.
Mitsotakis’ initiative places Greece in a new point role in the Balkans after emerging from a financial crisis that tarnished its image.
But the region is also in focus of other key EU members. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who kicked off a two-day tour of the Western Balkans on Friday with a visit to Kosovo, is also expected to travel to Thessaloniki to attend the summit of 13 SEECP participants.
Regional media reported Scholz is trying to lift a Bulgarian veto on North Macedonia’s opening of negotiations, which has also held Albania backwards.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is also scheduled to attend the Thessaloniki Summit, said earlier this week it was hard to be optimistic about any speeding up of the EU integration process based on the experiences of the past few years.
