SARAJEVO – Without a significant change in the stance of several European Union countries towards the enlargement process in the Western Balkans, no substantial progress will be made in these countries’ EU accession, says Dejan Jović, Professor at the University of Zagreb and a member of BiEPAG.
Speaking for European Western Balkans in Sarajevo on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG), Jović emphasized that there have been no serious steps towards actual enlargement over the past decade.
“When BiEPAG was formed in 2014, it was believed that it might be a good momentum because the Berlin Process had just started, and it had also been one year since Croatia joined the EU. But unfortunately, in these ten years, there have been no significant steps towards real enlargement. This has been very harmful,” Jović said.
From the start, BiEPAG has advocated for the rapid accession of the countries in the region, as well as the continuation of the EU enlargement trajectory that existed until 2013, Jović said.
“That has not happened due to a number of reasons, some of which are domestic, while others lie with the EU. I think it’s good that this expert group still exists after ten years and that interest in the European Union is continually maintained,” he added.
Asked what the main obstacles to EU membership of the Western Balkans, Jović pointed out that the issues lie in the fact that fundamental questions remain unresolved, even 30 years after the breakup of Yugoslavia.
“On the other hand, we are witnessing the strengthening of authoritarian tendencies in several countries, as well as a rise in nationalism across all the countries in the region. These are the main issues facing the Western Balkans,” he said.
He added that some of these problems have been resolved, such as the name dispute of North Macedonia and the end of Milo Đukanović’s three-decade regime in Montenegro.
“However, there is still a certain level of uncertainty in the region. There remains a strong sense that the transition is not over, and the region is still full of unfinished projects,” Jović noted.
He emphasized that it is a positive development that the new EU Enlargement Commissioner will come from Slovenia.
“It’s good that we heard from Ursula von der Leyen that the 2004 enlargement is a good model for this region. It’s also good that the EU is sticking to the geopolitical concept, which can benefit the Western Balkans,” Jović said.
He stressed that success in the Western Balkans would be crucial for the enlargement processes the EU has initiated with countries like Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova.
“If the EU cannot integrate the Western Balkans, how can anyone expect it to successfully integrate these three countries, which are only at the beginning of the integration process? This is why success in the Western Balkans is extremely important for the EU,” Dejan Jović concluded.