Today, the nineties of the last century are too real, because the ideology of the nineties has not been defeated. During the time of Slobodan Milošević, we had memorandum nationalism, and today we had original nationalism from the Second World War - assessed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro, Ranko Krivokapić.
He was one of the panelists at the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT) conference - "Is the European perspective of the Western Balkans a myth or a reality?".
"Whatever the EU is, we are to blame. Although they are not perfect professors, we are bad students. Our problem is our elites, our societies, our religious communities... If there was no European Union (EU), where would we be? I don't have any dilemma - we would go to war. Elites in the EU are failing, but the system is not failing. Let's be very objective about ourselves - we don't have social, educational, political elites. Montenegro has a chance to send some good messages like this, which it inherited from the past. Montenegro is on the train. Its path to the EU will be stimulating for these societies," underlined Krivokapić, adding that he would not waste words on the regional initiative "Open Balkans" which, according to him, almost became a "separate Balkans" the day before yesterday.
Former Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Internal Affairs of FR Yugoslavia, Zoran Živković, said that what was done in Serbia from October 5, 2000 to 2003 and the assassination of Zoran Đinđić was the best thing that happened in that country.
"We have returned it to the right path, from which it got lost who knows when. Is the European perspective of the Western Balkans (WB) a myth or a reality - is it a real myth or a mythological reality. It is a great responsibility of the EU that it did not press us harder, so that all let's become Europeans. That didn't happen...", said Živković.
He believes that the arrival of Aleksandar Vučić to power in Serbia is a counter-revolution.
"From his government they spit on the EU, and they glorify Russia and its president Vladimir Putin. That Europe had confidence in Vučić as a stabilocrat. However, we cannot speak in the Balkans with a diplomatic vocabulary. The EU must force all countries at the World Congress to accept its basic principles. Otherwise, we will have Ukraine or Moldova permanently. I have nothing against Russia, I love its culture, but the politics conducted there is a horror - not only for Russians, but for everyone. A permanent guarantee of peace in these areas must be provided," he pointed out. is Zivkovic.
He emphasizes that the EU must clearly define its goals.
"If ZB has a future on the European road, then write clearly what that means. You should not pat autocrats or criminals who are the heads of states on the back...".
The former President of the Government of Croatia, Jadranka Kosor, assessed that the European Commission (EC) and the European leadership are currently the weakest on the scene.
"The EU's decision to grant candidate status to Ukraine is a reflection of the fear of not being politically correct. However, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, should have been told that the grant of candidate status means nothing. zero. This is a devastating result... the EU's focus of interest at the moment is not the Western Balkans," underlined Kosor.
She said that one should truly want to enter the EU, follow the European path, implement reforms, fight honestly against corruption...
"You have to really want it and you have to show that you don't have your fingers in your pocket."
Journalist and diplomat from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Zlatko Dizdarević, stated that BiH today is much further compared to what was expected, promised, compared to the things that were developing...
"Today, we are much further from any good solution than hunches with bad solutions. We live in a reality in which the project of the political elites in BiH is not to take a single step towards the EU. The matter is not accidental at all. The Dayton Agreement, which was never grew into a Constitution, into a system, it was strongly pressed by two international doctrines. One is that the agreement does not mention the losers and winners of the war. Based on that, an agreement was made that is schizophrenic from the side of constitutional principles. One entity was made as a state , and others as a crumbling state. Everything was done to reach what we have now," he said.
Dizdarević adds that the EU does not know what to do with BiH and that there is no solution for that country.
"For profitable and political reasons, the project in BiH is to defeat the other, to fight, to implement ethno-nationalism... BiH functions on the agreement of three cartels behind the curtain, and the citizens are forced to divide," explains Dizdarević.
He believes that the EU must go beyond formal requirements, adding that Ukraine and Moldova received EU candidate status based on the principle of political commitment, not formal conditions.
"BiH should be enabled to become a candidate," he concluded.
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