The European Union faces what is perhaps its greatest crisis yet, but concrete signals from its latest summit show the Balkan enlargement project will continue.
Despite crisis, EU keeps the door open
By ANDI BALLA
Tirana, Dec 16 – EU leaders met last week to discuss solutions for economic woes that have placed the common currency on life support and brought the European project itself into an almost existential crisis. But they also used to the same summit to send a clear message: Enlargement in the Balkans will continue.
The summit went beyond words of reassurance. There were concrete steps taken. Croatia signed the accession treaty, and Montenegro moved a step forward as the EU scheduled starting accession negotiations in the middle of next year. Other countries of the region are still behind, due to a multitude of issues, but internal problems make up their key obstacles, not the eurozone crisis, the summit showed.
Croatia signing the EU membership treaty at this time is in itself a great victory for enlargement, according to proponents of EU expansion. While Croatia’s accession had been expected for a while, the EU’s choice to continue enlargement in the middle of its economic and fiscal crisis is significant, note integration experts. And that was the intended message, say EU’s top officials.
European Commission President Jos額anuel Barroso, speaking at the Croatia accession treaty signing ceremony on Dec. 9, said opening the door to the latest bloc member is the best proof of how strong and successful the transformation power of EU’s enlargement policy can be.
“Today, we therefore also send a clear signal to Croatia’s neighbors: A signal that our European offer is on the table; that hard work pays off; that the benefits of European integration are within reach if our partners stay the course.” Barroso said. “A credible enlargement policy remains our most effective tool to guide this process and to reinforce stability and prosperity in South Eastern Europe – and thus in Europe’s fundamental interest.”
Yet integration experts also note Croatia’s advances are not a clear-cut template for the rest of the region in the immediate future. Despite the war in the 1990s which held the country back, because of its prior history, location and relative wealth, Croatia is partially seen as a central European country, that shares more in common with Slovenia rather than other former Yugoslav republics like Serbia or Macedonia.
However, beyond Croatia, the strongest positive signal for enlargement in the Western Balkans came when the EU summit decided to open accession talks with Montenegro in June 2012. It showed the rest of the region that moving forward is possible when conditions are met.
“The decision . . . is a clear recognition of the progress the country has made over the five years of its independence, and in particular since last December when it was granted EU candidate status,” said EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule as he announced the European Council’s decision.
Serbia’s Kosovo problem
However, Serbia’s candidate status and opening of negotiations were put on ice, despite expectations that it had met Brussels requirements to move forward as a candidate country due to its internal reforms as well as the fact that it cooperated with the International Court of Justice in the Hague to arrest and handover war criminals.
Experts note Serbia’s main obstacle at this time is the rise of tension in Kosovo and Serbia’s stance that it will never recognize the independence of Europe’s newest country, something that does not go well with the majority of EU member states which have already recognized Kosovo’s independence.
In public, the EU is putting on a brave face recognizing Serbia’s achievements, while privately its officials and some member states are pushing hard on the Kosovo issue, diplomatic sources tell Tirana Times.
Catherine Ashton, EU’s foreign affairs said in a statement Serbia’s achievements so far should be commended, but more is needed.
“We are looking forward to see Serbia progressing on the path to the European Union in the near future and are confident that Serbia can now make the final steps and ensure that the decision to grant candidate status in February can be taken,” Ashton noted.
However, faced with national elections, Serbia’s political elite is caught between the EU and the Serb people, who have not properly dealt with the country’s recent violent past.
“Reconciliation with Serbia starts with recognizing Kosovo’s independence,” a diplomatic source in Brussels told Tirana Times. “If they want to progress into the the EU, they need to understand that.”
The Serbs are not budging. Their stance ranges from opposition parties calling to abandon the EU bid to Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic’s more pragmatic stance on integration, yet unbending views on Kosovo.
In a recent interview with online news site The Huffington Post, Jeremic insisted Serbia wants to join the EU, but it will not change its stance on Kosovo to meet that goal.
“A lot of people are saying, ‘If you solve the Kosovo issue, it will push you into a higher gear in the EU accession process.’ But that’s not going to happen. Joining the EU is about fulfilling standards, not political issues like Kosovo or war criminals,” Jeremic said.
Beyond Serbia, in the former Yugoslavia there are Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina both of which have seen no progress in recent years.
Macedonia’s bid has not moved in three years, since it was granted candidate country status. Its lack of progress is largely due to the dispute with Greece over the name issue, but that’s not the only factor, as EU wants to see more reforms. Bosnia-Herzegovina is essentially politically paralyzed due to its ethnic divisions, and aside Kosovo, is in last place in its integration process.
Albania’s ‘tragic’ lost time
Albania’s EU integration process has not moved at all in at least two years, due to what was until recently a long-lasting political stalemate. It’s a case that is hard to understand seen in the regional context, and the loss of time has been tragic, says Albert Rakipi of the the Albanian Institute for International Studies.
“It’s incredible to see this, because Albania has not had any of the conflict issues neighboring countries have had as part of the break up of Yugoslavia,” he says. “Albania’s EU bid at this point seems to be a victim of internal politics of conflict and political irresponsibility.”
Albania has not done enough to move its bid forward and has been twice denied candidate status so far by the EU council. “Albania has made limited progress in meeting the political criteria for membership and the 12 key priorities for the opening of accession negotiations,” the latest statement on Albania by the council noted.
EU ‘can’t afford’ to leave Balkans out
Despite the hurdles, however, the enlargement project in the Balkans continues. Geographically speaking, the EU can’t afford to leave out any Balkan country that wants to join, particularly if it wants to have a stable back yard, experts note. And with Croatia’s accession, the enclave on non-member countries is getting smaller and smaller. For the countries in the region there is also no other alternative to European Union integration.
The European project started as a security project. Once Europe emerged from the horrors of World War II, the EU founding fathers wanted first to avoid any future wars and grow economically stronger together.
This dimension of security is still important in the Balkans, according to Michael Leigh, a former director-general for enlargement at the European Commission. In a recent opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal, Leigh points out that enlargement is EU’s most effective external policy.
“Security and stability in the Balkans cannot be taken for granted,” he writes, pointing out to the Kosovo barricades, an ethnically divided and politically paralyzed Bosnia-Herzegovina, protests in Albania, and Macedonia’s name dispute with Greece.
“This explosive mixture has been kept under control mainly because of the whole region’s ambition to join the EU. Most people in the Balkans still see EU membership as their countries’ path to salvation. They are not put off by the euro crisis, the effects of which so far pale by comparison with their own suffering during the dreadful wars of the 1990s,” writes Leigh.
