SARAJEVO – The European Union and the Western Balkans have missed many opportunities over the past decade for the enlargement policy to succeed, concluded the participants of a panel held in Sarajevo to mark ten years since the launch of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG).
BiEPAG was established as a joint initiative of the European Fund for the Balkans and the Centre for Southeast European Studies of the University of Graz. The Group currently gathers 25 experts, who are based in each of the six Western Balkan countries, as well as the European Union.
Aleksandra Tomanić, Executive Director of the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB), stated that there are not many achievements in the region over the past decade worth celebrating.
“When BiEPAG was founded, we hoped that after ten years, there would no longer be a need for BiEPAG. Unfortunately, ten years later, most countries in the region are still in the early stages of EU accession. We are marking this anniversary, but there is little to celebrate when you look at the state of enlargement, especially the state of democracy in the region,” Tomanić said.
According to her, BiEPAG has been an important platform for Balkan experts advocating for the region’s integration into the EU over the past decade.
Florian Bieber, coordinator of BiEPAG and Professor at the University of Graz, stated that the enlargement process over the last ten years has not brought about the desired level of transformation in the region’s societies.
In his view, the past decade has not seen sufficient visible progress in terms of enlargement. He reminded the audience that this is the longest period in EU history without an enlargement.
“Since Croatia’s accession 11 years ago, there has been no new enlargement, and this will certainly continue for the next few years. Meanwhile, across the Western Balkans, we are witnessing visible trends of democratic backsliding and the rise of ‘stabilocracies,’” Bieber said.
He added that, despite the failure of the enlargement process in the past decade, BiEPAG as a network believes this process remains valuable.
“We are critical friends of enlargement. Our role as critical experts and analysts is to provide our advice. We will continue with this,” Bieber added.
Bieber then proceeded to chair a panel of BiEPAG experts titled “European Union – malo morgen?”
Research Associate at the University of Rijeka, Tena Prelec, remarked that the EU often speaks about a “momentum” for enlargement but has not been effective in seizing it. She cited the example of North Macedonia, where no progress was made despite the country’s authorities making significant changes.
She stressed that the EU has always viewed the region more as semi-peripheral rather than part of the club.
According to the Chairman of the Board of the European Policy Centre (CEP) from Belgrade, Srđan Majstorović, the war in Ukraine created momentum for enlargement, but this momentum must be translated into concrete action.
“Although there is an understanding within the EU that enlargement should happen, there seems to be a lack of consensus among all 27 member states,” Majstorović said.
He emphasized that the democratization of the region must not, and cannot, be separated from European integration, adding that democracy and the rule of law must remain at the core of the accession process. However, Majstorović noted that all relevant international indexes show that the region is regressing in these areas.
Lura Pollozhani, researcher at the University of Graz, spoke about young people’s attitudes toward the European Union and enlargement, noting that over the past decade, fatigue has set in.
“Many young people saw themselves working in EU countries, such as Germany. This is perhaps a missed opportunity that went under the radar. This process involves citizens, and bringing them into it is crucial,” Pollozhani said.
During the panel discussion, Marika Djolai stated that the EU developed a tool for resolving bilateral disputes during the ‘big bang’ enlargement, but it failed to translate into concrete policies in the Western Balkans.
According to her, during the past decade, the EU failed also in terms of symbolic gestures.
“One year after the Brussels Agreement between Kosovo and Serbia where two countries move forwards, the EU stopped the enlargement process”, Djolai recalled adding also the example of Sejdić-Finci case in Bosnia and Hercegovina.
“On a symbolic level the EU sent a message to authoritarian and populistic leaders in the region that behaving in such a way is acceptable. Ultimately, this led to the EU enlargement process not being taken seriously by political elites”, Djolai said.