Skopje, 19 June 2023 (MIA) — Absent a clear enlargement strategy, the EU keeps reiterating its Open Door Policy and regional countries keep saying EU membership is their only option, with no alternative, but there is a way for the Western Balkans to gain access to the European single market and funds, former President Branko Crvenkovski said in presenting an initiative of his before the Council of Ambassadors on Monday.

 

Addressing a foreign policy debate titled "North Macedonia between the Open Balkans and the Berlin Process: Is it possible to join the European Union faster?" Crvenkovski said the public opinion within the EU and candidate countries did not appear hopeful that European integration would accelerate.

 

"At least not in the short and medium term," Crvenkovski said, "because the EU does not have a clear and consensual plan on what to do with itself and, subsequently, with the Western Balkans either."

 

Pointing out that his idea did not pertain to the EU's complicated decision-making, Crvenkovski said allowing the region access the European single market and funds would be a transitional stage that would help the countries reach full EU membership and not be a substitute for it.

 

With better economic performances, the countries would be better prepared for full membership, he said, and the EU would strengthen its credibility in the region while fending off anti-European influences.

 

"It goes without saying there is no guarantee that all regional countries will accept this idea or that the EU accepts it and makes this happen. But if we don't try, we will never see any results. After all, we have nothing to lose," Crvenkovski said.

 

 

The former President said the already existing European Economic Area, which allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's internal market even though they are not members, could be one way to implement his idea.

 

"Another way that would circumvent the complex procedures for admitting new members to the EEA, and at the same time provide access to European funds, is if the EU signed a new special agreement with all the countries of the Western Balkans to give them access to the European single market and EU funds," Crvenkovski said.

 

He advised the Western Balkan states to push the initiative through the Berlin Process, the Open Balkans, or another form of regional cooperation and communication and present it to the EU so they could help shift the enlargement status quo.

 

"In other words, we the membership candidate states should help the EU define a clearer strategy toward the Western Balkans and our integration processes," Crvenkovski said.

 

He stressed that no progress had been made over the past year. "And this does not apply only to Macedonia but also to other countries in the region, regardless of whether we call it Southeastern Europe or the Western Balkans," the former President said.

 

"The only exception may be Albania, for which it was decided that negotiations would start. We opened ours, but we have not started negotiating. As things stand, it is hard to predict if and when this will happen," he said.

 

 

He recalled that Bosnia and Herzegovina had received candidate status, but under 14 conditions and without the right to use European funds. Kosovo, he added, was even facing threats of sanctions by the EU and the USA due to the conflicts in the north, while Serbia and Montenegro were negotiating with the EU for nine and 11 years, respectively.

 

Crvenkovski said this very stalemate was the reason that three years ago France had proposed a revised negotiating methodology, which was accepted by the remaining EU member states.

 

"Let's remember that because of this and not because of the Bulgarian veto, in October 2019, despite the European Commission's positive recommendation, Macedonia did not start negotiations with the Union. And what results has the new methodology produced?

 

"In these three years, neither Serbia nor Montenegro have made a single clear, meaningful step forward in the negotiation process. In other words, for various reasons in various countries, the entire region's European integration process has reached an impasse or shown negligible progress," Crvenkovski said.

 

The former President said the state's policies regarding European integration needed to take into account the wider context and not reduce everything to the problem with Bulgaria. He reiterated that the entire region was at a standstill, only occasionally making small steps toward EU accession.

 

He added that he saw no room for optimism regarding enlargement in the next few years, pointing to the "increasingly entrenched view of the so-called 'old' and most influential members advocating EU reform before any further enlargement."

 

Any reform in the Union, he said, could succeed only with the unanimous support of all members, yet it was hard for the bloc to reach a complete consensus even on less important issues than what status they would have and what privileges some countries would lose with those changes.

 

"I have to admit that I find rather illogical and unsupported the statements — regardless of where and who they come from — that if we started negotiations now, we would become a full member in four, five or seven years. Or that the war in Ukraine has created a new momentum that would accelerate the enlargement process.

 

"I could be wrong, but considering the rift in the Union and how difficult it is for them to reach a common position on important issues related to the war — such as sanctions against Russia, military aid to Ukraine, ways to deal with the energy and economic crisis resulting from the war — I'm afraid it will increase skepticism, rather than enthusiasm, about the EU's enlargement," Crvenkovski said.

 

 

He said public opinion polls in several EU member states confirmed this sentiment.

 

"The drawn-out wait; the promises given by the EU to the region's countries and not fulfilled; the setting of conditions and ultimatums that contradict elementary European values, as in the case of Macedonia, have also led to the drop in support for EU integration across the region," Crvenkovski said, citing recent survey results.

 

The former President said the unfortunate status quo demaded a choice be made between "two options: remaining passive, waiting and hoping for some kind of miracle, some radical turn that will speed up the process, or being proactive through giving ideas that would lead to some degree of integration even before achieving full EU membership."

 

"But let's make it clear: No initiative has any chance of being considered, let alone accepted by the EU if it comes from any individual country. Only a shared, coordinated proposal from all regional states can draw the attention of and be considered by Brussels," Crvenkovski said, encouraging the region to recognize common interests, cooperate, and strengthen mutual trust.

 

He also urged the country's political stakeholders to publicly share their opinion on his idea, whether positive or negative. "Just please don't put a party stamp on it and bring it into your daily political bickering," he said.

 

Which is why, he said, he had chosen to promote his idea before the Council of Ambassadors. Its members not only had great life and diplomatic experience but also had different political affiliations, he noted. mr/