Relations with Russia, lack of political will, blockades unrelated to European standards, non-recognition by member states, but also the slow implementation of reform processes, are just some of the reasons for the slow EU integration of the Western Balkan countries.
This is what interlocutors from the countries of the region assessed for "Vijesti".
Montenegro is currently the country with the most temporarily closed chapters (12), and, along with Albania, the only one to have opened all 33.
Official Podgorica submitted its application in 2008. Candidate status was granted two years later, and negotiations began in 2012. The first chapter (25 - science and research) was opened and provisionally closed that same year. Chapter 26 (education and culture) was opened and provisionally closed the following year, and Chapter 30 (external relations) in 2017.
After that, a seven-year standstill occurred, and in December 2024, it temporarily closed three chapters - 7 (intellectual property law), 10 (information society and media) and 20 (entrepreneurship and industrial policy). Also, last year, Montenegro received a positive report on the fulfillment of the interim benchmarks in the area of the rule of law (IBAR).
The year just ended was the most successful when it comes to European integration - in June, Chapter 5 (public procurement) was provisionally closed, and in December, five more - 3 (right of establishment and freedom to provide services), 4 (free movement of capital), 6 (commercial law), 11 (agriculture and rural development) and 13 (fisheries).
Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos They said after the Intergovernmental Conference, where five chapters were closed, that "Montenegro is a leader in the EU integration process and a candidate with the best results."
Serbia: Relationship towards Moscow and Pristina
Belgrade N1 correspondent from Brussels Nikola Radisic recalls that Serbia began negotiations on EU membership in January 2014, when the first intergovernmental conference was held, and that to date, 22 out of 35 negotiation chapters have been opened, while two have been temporarily closed.
"In the meantime, the enlargement methodology has changed, so the chapters are organized into six clusters. Serbia opened two. Cluster 1 (fundamentals) was opened in 2020, automatically, with the introduction of the new methodology, as it includes chapters that were already opened earlier (23, 24, 35). Cluster 4 (green agenda and sustainable connectivity) was opened in December 2021," he explains.
He points out that the other four clusters have not been opened, although, Radišić adds, cluster 3 (competitiveness and inclusive growth) has been technically ready since 2021, but the decision to open it has been politically blocked in the EU Council.
"The opening of this cluster and the continuation of negotiations are conditioned by the fulfillment of key political conditions, such as the rule of law and the normalization of relations with Pristina. The main factor that determines the overall pace of negotiations of all countries on the path to the EU is the rule of law. It includes the areas of the judiciary, the fight against corruption, the functioning of institutions, freedom of the media and control of the executive branch," says Radišić.
He reminds that Serbia has a special condition within Chapter 35 that affects the pace of negotiations - the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.
"For years, both sides have been demanding the implementation of all agreed agreements (the first ones date back to 2011), and the latest conclusions of the EU Council insist on the full and unconditional implementation of all agreements agreed so far, which in practice includes issues of recognition of documents and diplomas, symbols, as well as the integration of the remaining Serbian systems in the field of education and healthcare into the Kosovo framework. Until these tasks begin to be resolved, Serbia will stand on the European path," Radišić assessed.
"However, since Russia's aggression against Ukraine, political priorities have changed, so Belgrade is also being asked to prioritize harmonizing its foreign policy with the EU, that is, to impose sanctions on Russia. The EU reminds us that this is not a new condition, but that the order of priorities has changed, so imposing sanctions on Russia would 'show which side Serbia is on'," he adds.
Radišić also reminds that the highest officials of Belgrade, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Djuric and President of the Assembly Ana Brnabic, repeat that Serbia will impose sanctions on Russia "at the very end of the negotiation process, just before entering the EU", even though Brussels is constantly warning that without "taking sides" there will be no progress on the path to the EU.
"Belgrade responds that the negotiating framework does not state when foreign policy should be harmonized, and they explain that they are doing it gradually, and that they have reached above 60 percent harmonization. Brussels does not deny that harmonization is high, but they emphasize that none of the decisions on harmonization relate to the introduction of sanctions against Russia and Belarus due to the war in Ukraine," he told "Vijesti".
As he adds, Belgrade's words are no longer believed in the EU.
"Now Serbia is explicitly being asked to show results. In relation to Russia, declarative support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine is not enough, but rather insists on sanctions against those responsible for the war. Reform processes in themselves are not acceptable, the emphasis is on their concrete implementation," Radišić said.
The N1 journalist points out that although there is technical progress, these are the key reasons why Serbia is in practice standing on the European path, but they are not the only ones. According to the European Commission's enlargement report, Serbia is stagnating or regressing in numerous negotiation chapters.
"That is why we are now talking about Montenegro and Albania as the leaders of the enlargement process, and Ukraine and Moldova as the countries that are most rapidly moving towards EU membership. Although it has opened 22 chapters, Serbia is now seen in Brussels as a country at the bottom of the list, which it shares with Turkey (with which negotiations have long been frozen), North Macedonia (which barely opened negotiations in 2022, only to be immediately blocked by Bulgaria), Bosnia and Herzegovina (which still fails to start negotiations) and Kosovo (which is not even a candidate for EU membership).
North Macedonia: Bulgarian identity veto
Political analyst from Skopje Židas Daskalovski explains that the European integration process of North Macedonia has formally begun, but that, in essence, it is not progressing.
"Although the first intergovernmental conference was held and the screening was completed, negotiations by clusters and chapters have not been opened. No chapter has been opened, nor has it been temporarily closed," Daskalovski told Vijesti, adding that his country is "currently in the institutional preparation phase without any real content of the negotiations."
"There is a negotiating framework, but without concrete steps towards opening the chapters, which makes the process more symbolic than operational," he says.
He explains that the stalled negotiations are not the result of a technical lack of reforms, but primarily of "political conditions."
"The opening of the first cluster is linked to constitutional amendments that have become a prerequisite for the continuation of the process. Until this political condition is met, the negotiations cannot enter the operational phase. An additional problem is the fact that the bilateral dispute with Bulgaria is embedded in the EU's negotiating framework, which undermines the principle of enlargement based on clear and universal criteria. This has made the enlargement process politically unpredictable and subject to blockades that have nothing to do with European standards," Daskalovski told the newspaper.
He explains that Bulgaria is seeking a package of obligations that Sofia has been tying to Skopje's support for EU integration for years.
Among other things, the interlocutor explains, amendments to the Constitution are being sought that would make Bulgarians a recognized community in the preamble of the Constitution.
"This has become part of the obligation within the EU process: without constitutional amendments, there is no next phase of opening negotiations," Daskalovski points out.
As he adds, their eastern neighbor also demands that the "Macedonian language" not be recognized as a separate language in EU documents, but also the formation of a Joint Commission that would reach concrete agreements on personalities and periods, as well as their "integration into teaching, with dynamics and measurable steps."
"Sofia is seeking a lasting result: prevention, investigation and prosecution of hate crimes, hate speech and discrimination against Bulgarians in Macedonia, and strengthening trust in institutions," Daskalovski points out, adding that Bulgaria also has a request related to the "rehabilitation and 'de-Yugoslavization of the narrative'", that is, "the cessation of 'anti-Bulgarian' symbolism".
“In practice, this means pressure to change formulations and features that Bulgaria interprets as institutionalized stigmatization (for example, the terminology of the ‘Bulgarian fascist occupier during World War II’ in the public space), as well as a broader demand to change the state narrative about Bulgaria,” he explains.
According to him, Bulgaria is not only seeking 'good neighborliness', but also "the normalization of identity and historical disputes through the Constitution, textbooks and public discourse, with protocols as a monitoring mechanism."
As he points out, internal political polarization further complicates reaching the necessary consensus, while at the same time there is a weakening political will for enlargement in the EU, but the result of all this is "a process that formally exists, but in reality stagnates", leaving North Macedonia in a prolonged state of uncertainty.
BiH: Lack of political will
Director of the Foreign Policy Initiative of BiH Haris Ćutahija explains that the country's European integration process is currently at a stage where negotiations with the EU have not yet essentially begun.
"Although the European Council made a political decision to open negotiations in March 2024, that decision has not been translated into a real, technical negotiation process to date. In practice, this means that no negotiation chapter has been opened or temporarily closed, because BiH has still not fulfilled the remaining initial conditions for the start of negotiations," he told Vijesti.
According to him, the reasons for this are exclusively "political in nature", adding that BiH institutions have still not managed to harmonize key "European laws", appoint a chief negotiator, or establish a functional negotiating structure, due to the lack of political consensus and constant conflicts over jurisdiction.
"The latest Report on BiH published by the European Commission further confirms this stagnation, stating that no progress sufficient to change any existing assessment has been made in the past year. In other words, BiH's European path is not being hindered by technical problems or a lack of knowledge, but by continuous political blockages and a conscious lack of political will," Ćutahija assessed.
Albania: Slow process and internal problems
Journalist from Tirana Ardit Rada points out that Albania's negotiation process with the EU is progressing, but not at the speed that many citizens would like, but in a direction that is unmistakably clear.
He explains that, after years of stagnation, caused mainly by external vetoes and internal political turbulence, Albania has "finally entered the substantive phase of accession negotiations."
"The opening of the first negotiating cluster (the foundation) marked a turning point. A number of key chapters have been opened, including those on the rule of law, the judiciary and fundamental rights. None, however, have yet been provisionally closed. This is not a failure, it is the nature of a process that is designed to be rigorous, not accelerated," Rada believes.
Answering the question of why Albania has not yet closed the chapters and why the process is not moving faster, the interlocutor of "Vijesti" says that EU enlargement is no longer a political gesture, but a technical and deeply conditioned process.
“Chapters remain open because reforms need not only to be adopted, but also implemented, tested and proven to be sustainable. Judicial reform, anti-corruption measures and strengthening state capacity are not items to be crossed off a list; they are systems that need to be built. This requires time, consistency and institutional maturity,” he explains.
The second reason is that the process was actively undermined from within because, in his words, the Albanian opposition, led by the Democratic Party, systematically tried to sabotage the country's European narrative - not only at home but also abroad.
Kosovo: Non-recognition by member states
On the other hand, Kosovo cannot begin integration because five member states (Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia, Romania) do not recognize it. This is explained to "Vijesti" by a long-time correspondent for several regional media outlets from Brussels. Augustin Palokaj.
"However, despite this, Pristina is implementing reforms and is not doing badly on that path, but this year, due to the parliamentary crisis, they did nothing because there was no government," he adds.
As he points out, due to non-recognition, Kosovo cannot hold an intergovernmental conference because the five members cannot send members of the government to it, but if they did, their integration process would be accelerated because they are already prepared.
"The EU has objections to relations with Serbia, but that obstacle means nothing, because non-recognition is the biggest obstacle of all, so the others are invisible from it. There would certainly be more, like thermal power plants," Palokaj points out.
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