Bulgarian political crisis casts shadow over Balkan summit

BRUSSELS (AP) — Western Balkan leaders expressed frustration Thursday at still waiting in the wings at the European Union, even as the applications of Ukraine and Moldova were quickly adopted by leaders of the EU.

The Bulgarian government crisis has tarnished a European summit that aimed to boost the Balkan countries’ hopes of membership and show Western resolve in the face of the crisis. Russia’s war in Ukraine, but ended in frustration for the Balkans.

The Bulgarian parliament adopted a no trust vote in Prime Minister Kiril Petkov’s coalition government on Wednesday, creating a new obstacle to the long-delayed start of EU accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania.

All three countries belong to NATO, but Bulgaria has used its EU membership to prevent the other two from pursuing membership in the 27-nation European bloc. Bulgaria has a dispute with North Macedonia over ethnicity and language, and its position has also blocked Albania’s progress because the EU treats the two as a political whole.

Petkov briefed the leaders on the political situation in his country that is blocking discussions on a compromise proposed by France, which hoped to break the deadlock in the final days of its EU Council presidency.

“I made it clear that this was a decision of the Bulgarian parliament and that only I and the government would not change the Bulgarian position,” he said.

Petkov’s words did little to appease Albania and North Macedonia.

“This Bulgarian affair is a shame,” lamented Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. “A NATO country kidnaps two other NATO countries” while there is a war in Europe’s backyard.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said his main concern in the Western Balkans was the blockade of Bulgaria, which he said “creates a lot of irritation, which I understand.” However, he said he thought there was a 50 to 60 percent chance of a breakthrough next week.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he believed a deal was within reach.

Several leaders stressed at Thursday’s meeting the need for the EU to reform the long enlargement process.

Josep Borrell, the bloc’s top diplomat, said the rule requiring unanimous approval from current members “is a big problem.”

“So we have to think about how we make decisions within the European Union, because we cannot continue with just one country blocking for months and months,” he said.

The EU, a political and economic club that has the largest single market in the world, wants to reassure Balkan countries who have waited years to be admitted that the bloc’s doors remain open.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has added to the list of countries aspiring to become members of the EU. The governments of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia rushed to apply for membership after Russia invaded their neighbor.

At their two-day summit which began on Thursday, EU leaders presented Ukraine and Moldova as candidates for membership, the first step in the long accession process, and offered Georgia what they call for a “European perspective”.

The leader of Bosnia’s rotating presidency, Sefik Dzaferovic, congratulated Ukraine and Moldova on their imminent status as candidates, but lamented that the same could not yet be said of his own country, which has gone through a devastating war in the early 1990s.

“It’s disappointing for Bosnia that we are not in the same place,” he said through an interpreter. “Because everything that is happening today in Ukraine is something that Bosnia has already experienced in the past. »

The EU last admitted a new member – Croatia – in 2013. The enlargement process has slowed as Eurosceptic voices have become heard in member countries such as Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands – all founding members of the bloc in the 1950s.

The Eurozone debt crisis a decade ago, a wave of migration to Europe in 2015 and the UK’s decision by 2016 referendum to withdraw from the EU have also contributed to political unease over the continued expansion of the bloc.

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, whose citizens do not benefit from visas to travel to Europe, said that peace and stability in Europe are inconceivable without the integration of the Western Balkan countries.

“The people of Kosovo want more opportunities and progress. They want a visa-free regime to see, feel and live in Europe,” she said, adding that Kosovo citizens “remain isolated in the heart of the continent where they live.”

European Council President Charles Michel, who chairs the EU summit, said the European Union was determined to revive Western Balkan countries’ applications for membership.

Albanian Rama said his country’s critical situation should serve as a warning to Ukrainians.

“It is a good thing to grant candidate status, but I hope that the Ukrainian people will not have many illusions about this,” Rama said.

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Mike Corder and Samuel Petrequin in Brussels, Valentina Petrova in Sofia and Llazar Semini in Tirana contributed.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine