The region (is) not forgotten

The region still believes that its European integration is the main focus of Brussels, and the recently signed declaration in Athens is a message that the policy of enlargement is still alive.

This was assessed by the interlocutors of "Vijesti", who pointed out that a great victory for the entire region would be for any country in the Western Balkans to become a member of the EU.

The leaders of the Balkan countries and the European Union, as well as Ukraine and Moldova, signed a joint declaration at the beginning of the week in which, among other things, it is emphasized that the region of the Western Balkans has not been forgotten and should be accepted as full members of the European family. The joint declaration was signed in Athens by the President of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic, Of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, Moldova Maja Sandu, Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Romania Jon Marcel Čolak, Kosovo Albin Kurti, North Macedonia Dimitar Kovachevski, Bulgaria Nikolai Denkov, Croatia Andrej Plenkovic and President of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Kristo.

The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, said in Athens that Montenegro is ready to join the EU and that its membership would send a good message to the countries of the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe that the enlargement process is alive.

Representative of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime for the Balkans, Aleksandar Srbinovski believes that if Montenegro achieves its strategic goal (to become the next member of the EU), it will be seen as a success for everyone in the Balkans.

"However, although I count myself as an optimist, it is honestly very difficult to predict such a success at this moment while the war in Ukraine continues," Srbinovski told "Vijesti".

Senior researcher at the Belgrade Center for European Policies (CEP) Strahinja Subotic he said that Montenegro's ambition to talk about dates that are close at hand when it comes to its future membership is understandable.

"The year 2025 was discussed for a long time in Podgorica, and we see that it is now being moved to 2027 and 2030. However, the fact that Montenegro is 'leading' in relation to other countries in the region does not mean that its future path to the EU will be easy. ", said Subotic for "Vijesti".

Montenegro has been negotiating with the EU for 11 years, and during that period it opened all negotiation chapters, 33 of which, and temporarily closed only three. This, along with the increasingly bad ratings in the reports of the European Commission (EC) on progress, is the reason why international and domestic addresses increasingly receive ratings that the integration of Montenegro is "frozen".

Montenegro accepted to negotiate with the EU according to a new methodology, according to which no chapter can be closed before the key ones, namely 23 and 24, which refer to the rule of law.

Serbia has been negotiating for nine years, North Macedonia and Albania started the process in July last year, while Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) received candidate status in December. Kosovo also submitted an application for membership in December...

The idea is to "put something concrete on the table"

Subotić points out that the adoption of declarations and similar documents always carries a certain significance, because it is one of the ways to send a message that the enlargement policy is still alive.

"Although one should not always exaggerate their importance, what is relevant here is that the necessity to 'revitalize' the enlargement policy has been highlighted. In this regard, whether this declaration will remain just a piece of paper or something more depends on the decisions of key EU institutions by the end of this year," he said.

As he added, considering that next year's European elections are coming up, the idea is to "put something concrete on the table" during the coming months and show that the EU is really ready to speed up the accession processes of countries from the region - of course, assuming that the countries of the region are making even greater efforts to implement key reforms.

Srbinovski believes that the European integration of the region is the main focus of Brussels, but, as he warns, the EU and the world are currently facing priorities such as the war in Ukraine and the enormous danger for the Union at the level of an existential character.

"However, despite all the difficulties, EU leaders want the Balkans to become part of the European family," he said.

Srbinovski believes that the Open Balkans initiative, which was initiated by North Macedonia, Albania and Serbia, brings similar benefits as the EU, and it is an excellent model for the time being to reorganize the countries to be at the EU level "before the end of the golgotha ​​of the Balkans for membership in the Union." ".

When asked whether the eventual entry of Montenegro into the EU by 2027 would be a sign from the EU that enlargement is not "dead" and that the Western Balkans have not been forgotten and left to third parties, he answers that the Balkans have not been forgotten and literally all the countries of the region know exactly what they want and they are fighting for their place in the Union.

"As things stand now, the space for foreign powers to prevent this process is very real, whether it is China or Russia is irrelevant. Because with that, the EU loses, and at the same time the Balkans also lose. However, I believe that the common sense and correct policies of Brussels, but also the smart and difficult policies of all the governments of the region will eventually triumph and put the EU flag next to our national flags once and for all," Srbinovski said.

Strahinja Subotić points out that, as the EU institutions constantly point out, Montenegro has a lot of work ahead of it, which can be seen in the fact that it has closed only three chapters.

This job, he believes, is only even greater for other countries, especially for those that need to resolve other issues such as foreign policy harmonization.

"From the perspective of civil society, the year 2030 is advocated as a date that should be a tentative time according to which states should direct the implementation of the necessary reforms. However, that date is also moving, and the dates should rather be seen as an auxiliary tool for concretizing reforms instead of as a necessary guarantee - because experience teaches us that reforms in the region often take more time than we would like," he said. Subotic.

Montenegro has a hard time joining the EU until 2027.

Subotić says that it is difficult for him to imagine the membership of Montenegro in 2027, because it would mean that he should close all chapters by 2025, given that it takes up to two years for the accession agreement to be ratified by each EU member state.

"If someone thinks that Montenegro can close all chapters in such a short period, and during the period of continuous political turbulence in this country, then membership is conceivable. Knowing the opportunities and the current access path of Montenegro, we can say that there is no reason for such exceptional optimism", he said.

He says that, instead of focusing extremely loudly on dates, it would be wiser for Montenegro to focus on reforms - and the date will then come by itself, especially considering that the EU is currently discussing innovative ideas for strengthening the enlargement policy in the context of current geopolitical changes. .

The Western Balkans still belong to the EU

The meeting in Athens was organized on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Thessaloniki Declaration, adopted at the summit of the Western Balkans and the EU in Thessaloniki in 2003, which expressed support for the entry of the countries of the region into the Union. The Thessaloniki summit played a key role in opening the door for the entry of several countries of the region into the EU. Since then, only Slovenia (in 2004) and Croatia (in 2013) have joined the EU from the former Yugoslav states.

The Athens Declaration has eight points, and was signed by 11 participants in the presence of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.

The text of the Athens Declaration was published on the official website of the Greek government.

In the first few points, support for Ukraine was expressed and it was said that there can be no impunity for war and other crimes, such as attacks on civilians and destruction of infrastructure, and that all those responsible must be held accountable.

Point 5 points out that 20 years ago, the Thessaloniki summit made it clear that the Western Balkans belonged to the EU.

"We firmly believe that today this statement is more relevant than ever. The escalating war of aggression against Ukraine has revealed the urgent need for a strong, resilient and inclusive EU as a cornerstone of peace and prosperity among our peoples in these challenging times," it said.

Point 6 emphasizes that the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova, geographically neighboring EU member states, have a common European heritage, history and future defined by common opportunities and challenges.

"As a strategic investment in peace, security and stability in Europe, it is important that these regions are accepted as full members of the European family," the Declaration reads.

In point 7, it is underlined that it is important to fulfill the vision of the European Union, which is enriched by the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova.

"We emphasized the need for a re-energised and focused expansion process that is tangible and credible, with no shortcuts to set conditions. We have expressed our commitment to support Ukraine and Moldova to take the next steps in the EU accession process as soon as they complete the necessary reforms," ​​it said.