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Western Balkan leaders had their eyes on Brussels on Wednesday as the European Commission unveiled its annual assessment of candidate countries’ applications for membership in the European Union.
ADVERTISEMENTSix Western Balkan countries have expressed their interest in joining the EU, five of which – all except Kosovo – have already been granted official candidate status.
But even though the Commission has promised to push Ukraine and Moldova further On the path to EU membership, few new promises were made to the Western Balkans on Wednesday, despite pledging to open formal accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina once conditions are met.
Accession negotiations with Western Balkan states have largely stalled in recent years as the countries, mostly plagued by political instability, have been slow to meet tough EU demands , particularly in terms of constitutional and judicial reforms and the fight against corruption. Montenegro and Serbia have been locked in negotiations for more than a decade.
Western Balkan leaders have warned their European counterparts of a growing sense of frustration among their citizens as they seek assurances that Brussels is serious about expansion.
That led to a change in EU tactics, with Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen touring countries last week to unveil the new €6 billion budget. growth plan for the Western Balkans, designed to provide economic incentives for the implementation of enlargement-related reforms, including progressive access to the bloc’s single market, the first in the world.
The funds, which include €2 billion in grants and €4 billion in loans until 2027, will be distributed based on countries’ GDP per capita, but will operate under a “purely results-based system”, the Commission said. Failure to meet enlargement criteria, such as rule of law and anti-corruption reforms, could lead to funds being diverted to other countries, according to a senior EU official.
The EU’s aim is to bring the economies of both countries closer to its own and to ease the potential political and fiscal shock of welcoming new members with significantly weaker economies – the average per capita income in the Western Balkans is only between 27 and 50% of the average per capita income. the block average.
But despite new incentives, detailed Commission reports released on Wednesday show that the Western Balkans still face many obstacles on the path to EU membership.
Euronews takes stock of the situation in the countries.
Bosnia Herzegovina
Deep-rooted ethnic divisions and delays in constitutional, judicial and electoral reforms have prevented Bosnia and Herzegovina from catching up with its neighbors on the path to EU membership.
The country of 3.2 million inhabitants was granted official candidate status in December last year, but it is the only one of the five official candidate countries in the Western Balkans not yet to begin formal negotiations.
Negotiations can only open “when certain criteria are met,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
“We are opening the door very wide and we invite Bosnia and Herzegovina to walk through this door now,” added von der Leyen.
Electoral reforms have not been adequately addressed. In its report, the Commission states that the elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina were “marked by distrust of public institutions and by rhetoric of ethnic division”.
In a judgment delivered in August, the European Court of Human Rights, based in Strasbourg, describe Bosnia and Herzegovina is an “ethnocracy” where elections are undemocratic and reinforce the privileged position of dominant ethnic groups.
Brussels is also concerned about how Republika Srpska, one of the country’s two territorial entities where ethnic Serbs make up the majority, has argued for a neutral stance on the war in Ukraine, while the rest of the country has tried to align itself with the positions of the EU. tough stance against Russia’s war of aggression.
Serbia
Alignment on foreign and security policy also ranks high among the EU’s demands on Serbia.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has in the past criticized the bloc for “pressuring” him to join. punishments against Russia over the war in Ukraine, describing it as a “brutal” interference in his country’s sovereignty.
ADVERTISEMENTEconomy Minister Rade Basta was dismissed from his post in July after calling on his government to sanction Russia.
In its report, the EU executive also criticizes the escalation of tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, saying that the “pace of negotiations” will depend on the ability of the two countries to normalize their relations.
The bloc’s efforts to support dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, led by its top diplomat Josep Borrell, never bore fruit. The two sides continue to clash over plans to create an association of Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo, where tensions have been concentrated.
Kosovo
Kosovo, which is not yet an official EU candidate country, arguably has the most difficult path to EU membership given that five of the bloc’s member states do not recognize its sovereignty.
Difficult relations between Serbia and Kosovo also mean that the two countries’ offers are inevitably linked.
ADVERTISEMENTHigh tensions escalation At the end of September, when a Kosovar policeman was killed in a violent ambush by armed men in a village in northern Kosovo, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti blamed the Serbian government.
Both sides need to show “more serious engagement” and “compromise” to break the deadlock in standardization talks, the Commission report says.
On a range of 1 to 5, with 1 being early and 5 being well advanced, a Commission document reveals that it gives Kosovo an average score of 1.5 for its progress in implementing a series of reforms, particularly linked to the judicial system, corruption and organized crime. and freedom of expression. It gives the same score to Turkey, whose EU-oriented reforms are considered to be in decline.
Montenegro
Widely seen as in pole position for EU membership, the smallest and richest Western Balkan state has improved its position outlook membership last week when a new coalition government made up of pro-European, pro-Serb and Albanian minority parties was formed.
The restoration of political stability gives hope that the country can make rapid progress, despite the tasks ahead to strengthen the rule of law, fight corruption, promote the role of civil society and accelerate judicial reforms.
ADVERTISEMENT“If the reforms really accelerate, they could go quite quickly,” a senior EU official said on Wednesday.
North Macedonia and Albania
With EU membership talks open since July 2022North Macedonia and Albania are progressing at a similar pace.
Skopje has already taken steps to amend its constitution to recognize the Bulgarian minority living on its territory as part of a French-brokered deal aimed at lifting Bulgaria’s veto on the opening of negotiations for membership of the EU. But these changes are blocked by the main conservative opposition party, VMRO-DPMNE.
The country also has work to do to strengthen the rule of law, reform its public administration and fight corruption.
Albania faces a series of similar reforms in the negotiations, including strengthening freedom of expression, improving minority rights and tackling organized crime.
ADVERTISEMENTSpeaking to Euronews in September, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama called for the EU to reinvent the wheel of membership by proposing interim solutions such as staggered membership of the bloc.
“Instead of nothing or everything for us non-EU members, a new approach should be found,” Rama said.
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