Clouds over EU integration for the Western Balkans

TIRANA, July 27 – Integration of the western Balkan countries into the European Union is at a dark moment with more and more voices referring to the lack of standards in these tiny countries but still making distinctions among them.
Concurrently, Brussels has decided to start more intensive talks and is likely to decide that Iceland should soon enter the bloc while at the same time it has postponed similar discussions with Croatia which was ahead in that area.
Such moves have urged many regional leaders to call on Europe to remember that the Balkans are part of Europe and instability there may also threaten the rest of Europe.
That view has also been supported by the Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, who called on Europe not to make distinctions among them.
Montenegro’s Prime Minister, Milo Djukanovic, also reminded Europe that stability in the Western Balkans could be jeopardized if its countries are not allowed to join the European Union.
He said the problems faced by the EU candidacies of Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) are “strangling” joint efforts to overcome the legacy of regional wars in the 1990s.
All the nations of the Western Balkans – Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, FYROM, Montenegro, and Serbia – say they want to achieve full EU membership in the coming decade.
But Croatia’s candidacy has been suspended by EU member Slovenia, which is demanding a slice of Croatia’s territorial sea.
Serbia is blocked by the Netherlands over its failure to arrest two war crimes suspects.
FYROM’s accession is stalled by Greece over a name dispute.
And Albania is farthest from them all. Europe seems to be waiting for the final results of the parliamentary election, considered as an important test of its democracy.
But still Europe has practically sidelined or ignored this country which has only been hailed for its moderating role in the war-torn region. Albania did not start or get involved in any of the wars.
That’s been it. Albania’s population of three million seems to frighten Europe so much that it did not include them in the visa-free regime that added FYROM, Montenegro and Serbia.
Not to make a fine point about it, but they have recently been at war with each other or others. Albania was not.
Albania continues to be ignored. The top EU official, Javier Solana, visited the region on a farewell tour but not Albania, very likely a sign to Albanian politicians to behave themselves.
The European Commission said citizens of FYROM, Montenegro and Serbia should be allowed visa-free travel to EU nations starting Jan. 1. But the commission stopped short of recommending that citizens of two other Balkan nations, Albania and Bosnia, also be allowed visa-free travel because they still lack enhanced passports containing microchips with biometrics data.
On the other hand, might one also not feel a sign of pessimism or, at least, less optimism from Albanian officials?
Unlike electoral campaign statements, this time Prime Minister Sali Berisha was not as optimistic but reminded Albanians anything to do with Europe means opening a door with 27 keys; that is, member countries.
Europe has not set any date to check Albania’s application for the candidate status it applied for last April.