Finalizing the regional integration of the Western Balkans
Many important events happened in the past few weeks regarding the EU membership aspirations in the Western Balkans region with the Commission recommendation and Council endorsement of opening accession negotiation talks with Bosnia Herzegovina and the election of new ambassadors to the region which may have a positive effect for each future member.
On the 12th of March the European Commission recommended opening accession talks with Bosnia Herzegovina which was the last country in the region waiting for the decision. The decision formally approved by the Council was due to progress made in adopting the law on prevention of conflict of interest, combating anti-money laundering, judicial reforms and border management, fully aligning itself to the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. The 2023 Enlargement Package has also mentioned the important progress the country has made with strengthening fundamental rights for its citizens, ensuring fair market competition and putting forward projects in line with the EU’s green and digital transitions. By 2030 it is expected that the country will have improved water and sanitation for over 770,000 people and invested in over 180 megawatt of renewable energy (including the modernization of the Capljina hydroplant).
While the country has made important progress, political tensions remain with Serbia and regarding the Srebrenica massacre, officially recognized as genocide by the International Court of Former Yugoslavia during its 24-year mandate. The unresolved historical trauma that families and societies had –and have to- endure, still affect bilateral political and people-to-people relations, with a significantly slower progress that any reforms recommended by the EU. Notwithstanding the fact, the EU’s External Action Service appointed Luigi Soreca as EU Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina who previously served in a similar position in Albania.
With the upcoming EU elections, the candidate countries will be keen on how the new Commission and European Parliament will strategize and prioritize EU membership. At the same time, the Hungarian EU Presidency is expected to have a strong regional focus, just as in 2011, which can significantly improve security along the EU’s borders, provide strategic guidance for EU members and candidate countries to set concrete dates for the latter to join the bloc and to resolve bilateral disputes. The EU will need to significantly reshape its neighborhood policy to “act” instead of reacting to crises. This will need to go hand-in-hand with internal institutional reform through creating new types of institutions with introducing new ways of decision-making going beyond the usual qualified majority vs. unanimity debate. Setting up an EU Security Council can be the first step for member states to work towards strategic autonomy involving the Western Balkans countries on the way. While there is less than 100 days until the European elections, the EU will mark an important test in front of its neighbors and the world at large.
Image: eui.eui
