An EU-Western Balkans summit is being held today in Slovenia. Ahead of the summit, Odeta Barbullushi outlines four key steps the EU should take to ensure it continues to hold relevance for Western Balkan states

Barbullushi, Odeta

English

LSE Research Online

Without	an	enhanced	engagement	strategy,	the	EUrisks	losing	relevance	in	the	Western	BalkansAn	EU-Western	Balkans	summit	is	being	held	today	in	Slovenia.	Ahead	of	the	summit,	Odeta	Barbullushi	outlinesfour	key	steps	the	EU	should	take	to	ensure	it	continues	to	hold	relevance	for	Western	Balkan	states.An	EU-Western	Balkans	summit	will	take	place	today	in	the	picturesque	estate	of	Brdo,	hosted	by	the	SlovenianPresidency	of	the	EU.	This	is	the	fourth	such	summit,	with	the	first	one	organised	by	the	Greek	Presidency	inThessaloniki	in	2003.	It	was	there	that	all	countries	of	the	region	were	promised	an	EU	membership	path	and	weretold	that	their	place	is	in	the	European	Union.That	place	has	never	seemed	more	insecure	than	now.	To	be	sure,	the	process	of	achieving	EU	membership	wasalways	going	to	be	hard,	long	and	a	moving	target	for	the	candidate	countries.	But	the	prospect	was	still	withinreach.	That	changed	with	the	declaration	of	the	former	European	Commission	President	Jean-Claude	Juncker	in2014	that	there	would	be	no	further	enlargement	until	2019.At	the	time,	this	sounded	like	an	overly	cautious	assessment.	Today,	committing	to	the	accession	of	any	of	theWestern	Balkans	states	by	the	end	of	the	decade	would	cause	deep	division	among	member	states.	For	Albania,12	years	after	the	submission	of	the	country’s	application	for	membership	and	almost	two	years	after	the	EUCouncil’s	decision	to	open	accession	negotiations	in	March	2020,	no	formal	date	for	the	start	of	negotiations	hasyet	been	given.	The	reasoning	for	this	is	linked	to	the	grouping	of	Albania	with	North	Macedonia,	whose	bilateralissue	with	neighbouring	Bulgaria	has	blocked	the	way	forward.The	problem	is	not	only	the	length	and	unpredictability	of	the	process.	It	is	rather	the	fading	of	its	substance.	Theprocess	of	EU	integration	has	failed	to	capture	and	correct	the	backsliding	of	those	countries	misleadingly	namedas	front-runners,	while	the	negotiation	process	has	become	a	bureaucratic	exercise	shrouded	in	theincomprehensible	language	of	benchmarks.	This	has	neither	translated	into	progress	nor	wellbeing	for	the	citizensof	these	states.The	hollowing	of	the	substance	of	the	accession	process	has	come	with	a	lowering	of	ambitions	in	relation	toregional	cooperation,	too.	Regional	cooperation	among	the	Western	Balkan	Six,	as	launched	under	the	frameworkof	the	Berlin	Process,	has	been	built	on	four	objectives:	enhancing	cooperation	with	the	aim	of	fostering	economicconvergence;	improving	connectivity	between	the	region	and	the	EU;	encouraging	reforms	related	to	the	EUaccession	agenda,	particularly	those	related	to	rule	of	law	and	anti-corruption;	and	finally,	creating	a	conduciveenvironment	for	solving	bilateral	issues	and	disputes.Over	the	years,	the	process	has	come	to	be	associated	primarily	with	the	implementation	of	the	Common	RegionalMarket,	an	objective	agreed	upon	by	the	leaders	of	the	region	at	the	Sofia	Summit	last	November.	The	politicalframework	which	linked	regional	cooperation	to	the	EU	accession	process	on	the	one	hand,	and	solving	bilateralissues	on	the	other,	has	largely	slipped	to	one	side.	If	there	is	one	region	in	the	world	where	the	EU	can	still	rediscover	its	own	meaning	and	confidence,	it	isthe	Western	Balkans.	Today,	at	the	EU-Western	Balkans	Summit,	the	EU	member	states	have	a	chance	to	recover	some	of	the	leveragethe	EU	has	lost	in	the	past	few	years	in	the	region.	There	are	at	least	four	ways	in	which	the	EU	and	the	WesternBalkans	can	engage	in	more	meaningful	ways.LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog: Without an enhanced engagement strategy, the EU risks losing relevance in the Western Balkans Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-10-06Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2021/10/06/without-an-enhanced-engagement-strategy-the-eu-risks-losing-relevance-in-the-western-balkans/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/First,	they	must	keep	their	promises.	The	accession	negotiations	with	Albania	and	North	Macedonia	should	openwithin	a	year.	Kosovo	must	be	granted	visa	liberalisation.	Kosovars,	a	people	of	over	two	million,	are	now	the	onlypeople	in	Europe	prevented	from	entering	the	Schengen	area	without	a	visa,	despite	fulfilling	all	technical	criteriasince	2018.	The	process	of	accession	negotiations	will	be	long,	tedious,	and	reversible,	and	the	accession	processmay	not	look	like	any	of	the	accession	processes	so	far.	But	it	will	recover	trust,	the	credibility	of	the	EU,	and	stillsustain	the	pressure	–	thin	as	it	is	–	needed	to	implement	a	reform	agenda.	And	it	would	certainly	help	to	balancethe	role	of	Russia	and	China	in	the	region.Second,	it	is	necessary	to	prepare	for	the	long	term.	As	accession	negotiations	continue,	the	EU	will	need	to	createand	revamp	its	package	of	incentives	for	cooperation	and	help	deliver	on	reforms	for	the	Western	Balkan	Six.	To	beclear,	the	EU	remains	the	main	trade	partner	for	the	region.	In	the	past	two	years,	the	EU	has	provided	no	less	than3.3.	billion	euros,	together	with	the	European	Investment	Bank,	for	tackling	the	Covid-19	health	crisis	and	forhelping	the	post-pandemic	socio-economic	recovery,	out	of	which	over	761	million	euros	have	gone	to	support	therecovery	from	the	social	and	economic	impact	of	the	crisis.	This	investment	must	be	secured	and	sustained	throughthe	preparation	of	the	region	to	gradually	integrate	into	the	single	market.This	might	be	done	only	gradually,	within	a	plausible	time	frame	and	under	conditions	which	do	not	burden	thealready	weak	post-pandemic	economies	of	the	region	with	extraordinary	structural	costs.	This	includes	engagementwith	the	private	sector.	Supporting	companies	from	the	region	with	the	aim	to	integrate	them	into	European	supplyand	value	chains	might	be	one	way.	Helping	small	and	medium	enterprises	to	become	more	financially	andtechnologically	apt	is	another.The	full	implementation	of	the	Common	Regional	Market	must	go	in	tandem	with	the	implementation	of	the	EUEconomic	and	Investment	Package	of	9	billion	euros	approved	last	year,	which	is	dedicated	primarily	to	theimprovement	of	infrastructure,	rail	and	road	connectivity,	and	energy	and	digitalisation	in	the	region.	The	focus	mustbe	on	the	frontloading	of	funding	for	the	key	infrastructure	projects	which	connect	the	region	to	the	rest	of	the	EU,and	on	improving	the	competitiveness	and	investment	climate	in	the	region	so	that	the	package	succeeds	inmobilising	up	to	20	billion	euros	in	investment	within	this	decade.Third,	the	region	must	be	helped	to	‘build	back	better’.	This	does	not	only	mean	in	relation	to	infrastructure	and	theeconomy	but	also,	critically,	the	human	resources	and	human	capital	of	the	region.	The	Western	Balkans	hasexperienced	a	profound	brain	drain	with	much	of	the	labour	force	migrating	over	the	past	few	years.	The	EU	mustengage	with	the	Western	Balkans	for	the	gradual	integration	of	the	region	into	the	European	Education	Area	andEU	initiatives	to	foster	research	and	innovation.	It	will	need	to	create	specifically	tailored	programmes	for	thestrengthening	of	capacities	in	these	policy	areas	for	the	region.	Admittedly,	the	only	way	to	approximate	legislationin	the	areas	above	is	through	actual	negotiations	of	the	related	chapters	of	the	acquis.Fourth,	the	EU	must	engage	politically	with	the	region.	There	is	only	so	much	that	trade	and	economic	relations	cando.	If	there	is	no	political	framework	through	which	the	EU	can	engage	with	the	Western	Balkans,	trade	is	unlikelyto	work	miracles	and	bring	disputing	parties	together.	It	would	have	cost	little	to	the	EU’s	member	states	to	includethe	Western	Balkans	in	the	consultation	process	for	the	Brdo	Summit	Declaration,	but	this	would	have	signalled	realpolitical	will	to	engage	with	and	listen	to	the	countries	of	the	region.In	the	area	of	bilateral	disputes,	political	coordination	with	the	United	States	remains	critically	important,	given	thespecific	features	of	state	building	in	the	region.	In	this	respect,	the	dialogue	between	Serbia	and	Kosovo	mustcontinue	and	it	should	be	built	on	clear	expectations	and	a	roadmap,	as	well	as	real	pressure	from	both	partners	onthe	parties	to	cooperate	genuinely.	This	would	include	being	bold	enough	to	denounce	any	breaches	and	reinforcecommitments.The	EU	holds	a	degree	of	attraction	not	only	because	it	is	financially	and	economically	useful,	but	because	it	hasbuilt	its	assistance	to	the	region	within	a	normative	framework	of	values,	norms	and	political	identities.	In	otherwords,	it	has	woven	its	financial	mechanisms	within	a	narrative	of	peace	and	security,	of	rule	of	law	and	goodgovernance,	and	guaranteed	rights	and	liberties.	It	is	as	much	a	mechanism	for	crafting	meaning	as	it	is	forproviding	support.But	in	the	absence	of	this	normative	framework,	money	alone	will	never	be	enough	to	keep	the	Western	Balkans	atpeace,	democratically	governed	and	secure.	And	if	there	is	one	region	in	the	world	where	the	EU	can	stillrediscover	its	own	meaning	and	confidence,	it	is	the	Western	Balkans.LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog: Without an enhanced engagement strategy, the EU risks losing relevance in the Western Balkans Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-10-06Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2021/10/06/without-an-enhanced-engagement-strategy-the-eu-risks-losing-relevance-in-the-western-balkans/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	not	the	position	of	EUROPP	–	European	Politics	and	Policy	or	theLondon	School	of	Economics.	Featured	image	credit:	European	CouncilLSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog: Without an enhanced engagement strategy, the EU risks losing relevance in the Western Balkans Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-10-06Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2021/10/06/without-an-enhanced-engagement-strategy-the-eu-risks-losing-relevance-in-the-western-balkans/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/

Without an enhanced engagement strategy, the EU risks losing relevance in the Western Balkans

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Without an enhanced engagement strategy, the EU risks losing relevance in the Western Balkans

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