{"id":37765,"date":"2018-03-08T11:00:05","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T00:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=37765"},"modified":"2018-03-08T09:06:23","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T22:06:23","slug":"outstretched-hand-balkans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/outstretched-hand-balkans\/","title":{"rendered":"An outstretched hand for the Balkans"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

The European Union (EU) hasn\u2019t had a great track record on enlargement recently. Some countries have felt that as soon as Brussels announced a tentative timetable for accession\u2014what the EU calls a \u2018membership perspective\u2019\u2014the initiative has been quickly and quietly forgotten.<\/p>\n

The Balkans are no exception. Therefore, the comprehensiveness of the EU\u2019s strategy<\/a> for the Western Balkans published in early February came as somewhat of a surprise. Nevertheless, the EU has a major strategic interest in creating stability, security and prosperity in its immediate neighbourhood. No one wants to repeat the bloody Balkan wars of the 1990s or the migration crisis of the last two years. That means giving serious consideration to the western Balkans nations eventually joining the EU.<\/p>\n

The EU strategy identifies specific initiatives<\/a> \u2018to support the transformation of the Western Balkans\u2019. These focus on the rule of law, migration and security, socio-economic development, infrastructure, digitalisation and regional reconciliation. All aim to help Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Albania in their reform processes. If successful, candidate countries could join the EU by 2025.<\/p>\n

The EU\u2019s commitment shows that its current member states support the Balkan countries\u2019 eventual accession and are prepared to assist organisationally and financially during the region\u2019s transformation. That will particularly allow for the monitoring of the quality<\/em> of reforms. It also binds the EU to \u2018welcome new members once they have met the criteria\u2019<\/a>\u2014in order to avoid empty promises and to maintain the EU\u2019s credibility.<\/p>\n

One of the candidate countries\u2019 most important steps is to fulfil Article 49 of the Lisbon Treaty, including the Copenhagen Criteria<\/a>\u2014institutional stability that guarantees democracy, a market economy, and the ability and willingness to take on the obligations of EU membership. According to the European Commission<\/a>: \u2018Joining the EU is far more than a technical process. It is a generational choice, based on fundamental values, which each country must embrace more actively \u2026\u2019<\/p>\n

Montenegro and Serbia are the only two of the six candidates that have begun official membership talks. The EU strategy outlines<\/a> specific steps for both countries that could lead to EU membership in 2025. That attention caused joy in Belgrade and Podgorica. The other four states were less cheerful because they received only renewed encouragement to reform.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the document is an invitation to board the EU ship. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker repeated this message constantly during his tour of the region<\/a> at the end of February.<\/p>\n

While all six candidates share similar challenges\u2014corruption, sovereignty and autonomy disputes, and weak rule of law, to name just a few\u2014every country has unique issues. For example, Serbia can\u2019t join unless it normalises relations with Kosovo because the EU won\u2019t \u2018import\u2019 situations that could destabilise the union.<\/p>\n

Albania is experiencing internal struggles over its judicial reforms. Opposition MPs released smoke bombs in parliament last year to protest<\/a> the government\u2019s appointment of an interim general prosecutor. Establishing the office of the prosecutor is a required reform step. However, the opposition wanted the prosecutor to be appointed by an independent commission rather than by the ruling party, in part because the prosecutor will be charged with cracking down on corruption, including among politicians.<\/p>\n

The Balkan economies aren\u2019t yet competitive enough to survive the EU single market. For example, Bosnia and Herzegovina is experiencing its highest youth unemployment rate for years (54.3% in 2016<\/a>), a level surpassed recently by Kosovo (57.6%).<\/p>\n

Bosnia and Herzegovina isn\u2019t struggling only economically. The internationally brokered Dayton Agreement of 1995 was the best solution at the time to end the war and to provide a pathway for peaceful state building. However, more than 20 years later the agreement\u2019s rules have cemented ethnic frictions.<\/p>\n

Political candidates must identify with one of the three societal and ethnic groups. Candidates who decline to identify as either Bosnian-Serb, Bosnian-Croat or Bosniak, can\u2019t participate in elections. Despite a common flag, common anthem and common sports teams, a national identity for Bosnia and Herzegovina remains far from reality. Becoming a member of the EU would allow its citizens to identify as European\u2014perhaps bridging rifts in society and developing a common view of the future, particularly for the younger generations.<\/p>\n

All six western Balkan states should grasp the EU\u2019s outstretched hand. Russia monitors closely what\u2019s going on in the Balkans\u2014as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov\u2019s recent visit to Belgrade shows\u2014especially activities associated with EU or NATO membership. It cracks the whip when it feels it\u2019s necessary. But Moscow\u2019s behaviour shouldn\u2019t intimidate the western Balkan states\u2014witness Montenegro\u2019s recent accession to NATO.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s in Europe\u2019s long-term strategic interest that the western Balkan countries meet the EU\u2019s criteria and initiatives for membership. And the six candidates shouldn\u2019t see the accession process as a competition to be the first to join. It\u2019s in their collective interest to face current and future challenges together.<\/p>\n

Achieving membership for the six would also send a strong message to Russia that the Balkan countries aren\u2019t just a part of Europe geographically, but part of a wider EU family sharing common values.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The European Union (EU) hasn\u2019t had a great track record on enlargement recently. Some countries have felt that as soon as Brussels announced a tentative timetable for accession\u2014what the EU calls a \u2018membership perspective\u2019\u2014the initiative …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":679,"featured_media":37769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1877,325,1025],"class_list":["post-37765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-balkans","tag-europe","tag-european-union"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAn outstretched hand for the Balkans | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/outstretched-hand-balkans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An outstretched hand for the Balkans | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The European Union (EU) hasn\u2019t had a great track record on enlargement recently. 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