For someone coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina – a country with scars still visible from the war in the 1990s – the Lebanese sociopolitical context seemed appropriate to consider certain solutions adapted from Bosnia.
ENLARGEMENT: TOWARDS A NEW EU STRATEGY?
On November 9th, 2023, the EU Commission presented its yearly enlargement report. The beginning of its communication states: “Today, the Western Balkans, Türkiye, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia have a historic window of opportunity to strongly bind their future to the European Union.” The Commission also cited the conclusions of the European Council at its meeting in Granada, at which “EU leaders reconfirmed enlargement as a geo-strategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity.“
10 YEARS SINCE CROATIA’S EU ACCESSION - 20 YEARS SINCE THE THESSALONIKI SUMMIT
It is now ten years since the European Union underwent its last enlargement: after long negotiations, Croatia became a member of the EU on July 1st, 2013. At the time, the governments of several EU member states were skeptical of or even opposed to the enlargement process. As rapporteur of the European Parliament for Croatia’s accession, I sought to positively influence the political climate in such countries to gain the necessary support.
DIE ERWEITERUNG
Am 13.6 erhielt Robert Menasse den Bruno Kreisky Preis für das politische Buch. Als Vorsitzender der Jury begründete ich diese Auszeichnung. Dabei fand der Termin der Überreichung des Preises einen Tag nach meiner Rückkehr von der gemeinsamen Reise in den Westbalkan, vor allem nach Albanien, statt. Dieses Land und dessen Nationalheld Skanderbeg spielen eine entscheidende Rolle im Roman von Robert Menasse.
Ohrid Talks and Serbia’s Geopolitical Dilemma
In March 2023, representatives from Serbia and Kosovo gathered in Ohrid, North Macedonia, for the second round of talks aimed at resolving the long-standing dispute between the two countries. Mediated by the EU, the talks were seen as a crucial opportunity to find a lasting solution to the ongoing tensions between Serbia and Kosovo. The question is, did it succeed?
EU ACCESSION AND THE “UKRAINE WAR”
At the recent Budapest Balkan Forum organized by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Hungarian Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade, I was asked to comment on the likelihood and prospects for the Western Balkan countries to join the EU in the wake of the “Ukraine war.” The war has unquestionably had an immense impact on the EU’s enlargement process, and the awarding of official candidate status to both Ukraine and Moldova represents a significant step forward.
The Mini Schengen Initiative: The Western Balkans Going Against the Odds
The Balkans – and particularly the Western Balkans – have frequently been viewed as the antithesis of regional integration and state-building rationalism. Over the last century, the region was often portrayed as a trigger for the destabilization of Europe and was stigmatized as a space of disintegration. Despite the EU’s engagement in the region and the enlargement process, the countries of the Western Balkan have struggled to align their economic, political, and social systems. Furthermore, Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia, and most recently Montenegro have agreed on a framework, known as the Mini Schengen initiative, to establish an area guaranteeing the free movement of people, goods, capital, and services – comparable to the four freedoms of the EU.
KOSOVO - UNABHÄNGIG ABER UNVOLLENDET
Vor 15 Jahren am 17.2.2008 erklärte sich die frühere Region Serbiens zum unabhängigen Staat. Und am 22.7.2010 erklärte der Internationale Gerichtshof, der von Serbien angerufen wurde, dass die Unabhängigkeitserklärung durch den Kosovo nicht gegen das Völkerrecht verstoße. Aber der Weg zur allgemein anerkannten Unabhängigkeit ist noch nicht zu Ende gegangen. Da ich diesen Weg zuerst als EU-Abgeordneter und dann im Namen des IIP verfolgen konnte, will ich diesmal den keineswegs vollendeten Prozess der Staatswerdung aus persönlicher Sicht kommentieren.
KOSOVO - THE UNFULFILLED BRUSSELS AGREEMENT
In December last year, I argued optimistically in my blog “A New Start for the Western Balkans?” that there will be some progress towards the region’s EU accession as a “collateral benefit” of the war in Ukraine. However, there is one issue that is of great concern for all those who desire to bring the Western Balkans closer to the EU: the ongoing conflict between Kosovo and Serbia - particularly concerning the Serbs of northern Kosovo.
A NEW START FOR THE WESTERN BALKANS?
The Russian war against Ukraine has provided „collateral benefits“ to the Western Balkans. The war itself and the promise of future EU membership for Ukraine, Moldova, and -- more indefinitely -- Georgia have resulted in new initiatives for the EU accession process of the Western Balkans. The Berlin Process Summit in November, the European Parliament’s adoption of the Picula proposal on EU enlargement on November 23rd, and the EU Western Balkan Summit on December 6th in Tirana -- the first in a Western Balkan country – have sent strong signals to the region. Concrete steps added more substance to the general declarations. These included the agreement to enhance free movement between the countries of the region declared at the Berlin Process Summit as well as the energy support package and willingness to finally give Kosovo the promised visa liberalization announced in Tirana.