LJUBLJANA – “The Western Balkans can always count on the support of Slovenia. We will remain a strong supporter of the EU enlargement process at full speed,” writes Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon in an opinion article: Euronews Albania reported. “A friend of the region for better and for worse. For example, Slovenia is already advocating the opening of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU accession negotiations by the end of this year.
According to Fajon, this year the discussions clearly went beyond the regional framework and had a global scope, with the greatest interest directed towards the future of the Western Balkans within the EU.
“The idea presented by the President of the European Council Charles Michel, according to which the EU and the Western Balkans should be ready for enlargement by 2030, has found great resonance. The so-called “Bled Promise” left no one indifferent, but it raised the question of whether both sides would really be ready for expansion by that date,” explains the Slovenian Foreign Minister.
She believes that the opportunity “is there and we must seize it at full speed”.
“The geopolitical landscape clearly shows that there is no alternative to EU enlargement. The war in Ukraine has increased the appetite for enlargement and affirmed the idea that enlargement is a strategic necessity for the EU. Simply put: it’s now or never. Of course, this does not mean that the criteria for EU enlargement will be removed and the Western Balkans will be able to enter the Union without meeting them. This means that more political attention will be paid to the region and Western Balkan countries will be asked to do so appropriately,” writes Fajon.
She believes that for the EU this means a commitment to reform its decision-making process and to prepare institutionally and financially.
“The EU, with more than 30 member states around the table, simply cannot be as effective as it should be. Such reform will not be an easy task, but it is necessary. And this is of strategic importance for the EU, on the same level as enlargement. Skeptics would say that all these tasks seem very difficult until 2030. But in reality, there will be no better offer for the Western Balkan countries nor a better opportunity for the Union to improve and adapt to new global realities,” says Fajon.
She concludes that these difficult times will require courageous, forward-looking leaders on both sides.
“Leaders ready to put enlargement at the top of their agenda and take the decisions necessary to enable enlargement. The European elections will therefore be an important historical moment for the 2030 goal. Regardless of the elections, the Western Balkans can always count on the support of Slovenia,” concluded Fajon.