Brussels, Dusseldorf After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, supporters of EU expansion see opportunities for negotiations with the existing accession candidates to be conducted more intensively. Several Western Balkan countries have been pushing for years to become a member of the international community.
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said everything must be done to stop the crisis spreading to the western Balkans. He suggested to supporters of Ukraine’s EU accession “to also apply for candidate status for EU accession for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo”. In addition, accession talks should start immediately with North Macedonia and Albania, which already have candidate status.
According to Milanovic, talks with Montenegro should also be accelerated, while Serbia “must decide at this important moment for European peace whether it really wants to join the EU or not”.
Recently, the EU seemed to have lost interest in an ambitious enlargement policy. That could change now, said member of the Bundestag Josip Juratovic (SPD), after the EU leaders on Tuesday had campaigned for Ukraine’s accession. “It must be made clear to the federal states, but also to the responsible officials in Brussels, that there is now a will to accept new members,” said the Social Democrat.
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According to the Austrian MEP Lukas Mandl (ÖVP), it is understandable that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is considering EU membership for Ukraine in this situation. “But before that happens, the six states of the Western Balkans should finally be included. This is about a much smaller region that is much further along in its EU maturity,” said Mandl.
reforms necessary
With the prospect of accession, the EU wants to support democratization and prevent China and Russia from expanding their spheres of influence. Beijing is making huge sums of money available for the construction of motorways, and Russia is stirring up anti-EU sentiment with disinformation campaigns. During the corona crisis, both countries provided the Western Balkans with protective equipment and vaccines, while the EU was still subject to an export ban.
According to Juratovic, many obstacles to accession could be overcome if the EU really wanted it. For example, aid money would have to be linked to reforms that are a prerequisite for accession.
Because that’s what’s missing. It is true that some countries have fulfilled a considerable part of the conditions for accession. The Ukrainian ambassador also said his country had already implemented two-thirds of the requirements.
But the decisive regulations are not adopted by many. It is about a strong judiciary, fighting corruption and safeguarding human rights. There are problems with the judiciary in particular, because the respective government has to curtail its own power.
>>> Read here: EU accession in an urgent procedure? The most important answers to Ukraine’s membership application
The accession process is currently furthest advanced in the case of Montenegro. The former EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Ursula von der Leyen’s predecessor, promised the country, like Serbia, accession in 2025 – probably to motivate them to carry out the necessary reforms more quickly. That didn’t help much: meanwhile, a potential EU accession for Serbia in 2025 is no longer something that is still being talked about in Brussels.
In addition, there is great caution about a predominantly geopolitically motivated EU enlargement. In the past, Bulgaria and Romania were rushed into the EU, again to prevent Russia and China from expanding their influence and turning away from Europe.
Concerns about Bulgaria and Romania
Since then, the two countries in the rest of the EU have repeatedly caused concern: there are problems with the rule of law, and they are also economically weak. The gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 2021 was 9600 euros in Bulgaria and 4986 euros in Romania. For comparison: The EU average is 32,000 euros. Critics complain that their inclusion was a mistake and happened too early.
But there have been numerous warnings that the Western Balkans could be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s next target. In addition to Serbia, which is already very friendly to Russia, it is particularly about Bosnia-Herzegovina, the most fragile Western Balkan state.
There, Moscow supports politicians who are further jeopardizing the country’s already shaky stability. Like Milorad Dodik, a member of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s three-member state presidency, who is striving for the secession of the Republic of Srpska. The predominantly Serbian populated region is one of the two member states of the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina, along with the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In terms of area, it accounts for about half.
“In Bosnia-Herzegovina, they see themselves behind Ukraine as the second front of a possible confrontation with Russia,” warns Green MEP Romeo Franz. Dodik’s biggest supporter is Putin. “The EU must understand this connection and act early,” he wrote on Twitter.
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