Brussels, 7 December 2023 (MIA) - Gradual integration of EU candidate countries into the bloc's structures is not an alternative to membership but the best way to keep enlargement on track and achieve faster results, say Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani and Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg in a joint interview with Brussels-based web portal Euractiv.

FM Osmani says setting 2030 as a new target date might reinvigorate the accession process and create a positive reform competition towards achieving the membership goal.

"It is completely achievable, and its fulfillment will depend on what we as candidates and the EU do until then in terms of our preparedness and institutional and policy adjustment. We need a new level of trustworthiness and credibility," says Osmani.

According to him, EU’s previous ‘big bang’ enlargement – from 15 to 25 members – had a strong geopolitical impetus being a culmination of a partial reunification of a Europe that had been divided for half a century by the Iron Curtain and the Cold War.

"The complete reunification was left as unfinished business and now it should be finalised with the new geopolitical momentum created by the brutal aggression against Ukraine. The success with Central and Eastern European countries depended also on the indicative 2004 timeline as a target that was set for as a pulling force towards fulfilling criteria and the adjustments that the EU had to make to welcome newcomers. It worked well before, so why not this time?" says Osmani.

On the same question, FM Schallenberg says setting the target date of 2030 by Council President Charles Michel was a wake-up call.

"Too soon for some, too late for others. We have to deliver faster on our promise that the future of the Western Balkans lies in the EU. That is why I initiated the 'Friends of the Western Balkans' group. From my point of view, it means that enlargement can and will happen. We need to do our homework and prepare ourselves, both the EU as well as the candidate countries. At the same time, enlargement is a merit-based process, which means it is up to each country to decide how fast to move forward on the EU integration path. If North Macedonia continues with its current reform agenda, its accession is within reach," says Schallenberg.

Regarding the concept of "more integration before membership" coined by North Macedonia, Osmani says it is complementary to the current efforts on accelerating the accession process, giving concrete examples of what could be done - first, associate WB6 more closely with the EU policymaking by attending sectoral Council meetings without voting rights; re-strengthened focus on the fundamentals as part of the Copenhagen and Madrid criteria, particularly the rule of law, democratic standards, and economic reforms, indispensable for achieving progress in governance; thirdly, the prospect of progressive joining into the EU single market before full membership should also be envisaged; fourth, to make the benefits of membership tangible at an earlier stage of the enlargement process and to narrow down the convergency gap, the EU should devise a separate scheme alike the structural and cohesion funds available to WB6, with increasing funding levels, as they meet key milestones within the accession negotiations; fifth, the EU should extend the prospects for WB6 to participate in and observe the work of the EU institutions by including them as observers in the work of the European Commission comitology, for example, special committees and working groups and allowing for appointed Members of national Parliaments to participate in the work of the European Parliament (without voting rights).

"The current commitment from the EU Institutions in this regard is welcomed, and we have endorsed their proposals – be it Michel’s 2030 pledge, Von der Leyen’s Growth Plan or the observer status for our regional MPs in the work of European Parliament President Metsola," notes Osmani.

Schallenberg says gradual integration is not an alternative to membership, it is a pathway to full membership, but enabling faster results.

"We have to abandon the old binary thinking of a country being either a full member state or not part of the club. Instead, we need to promote a gradual integration process that delivers faster results and is more tangible for citizens. Austria has proposed concrete steps to advance gradual integration and will push for their implementation in 2024. We want to see the Western Balkan countries gradually participate in the single market and other areas such as transport, science and education, energy and climate, migration and justice. Ukraine and Moldova already have access to the single market in selected sectors, and we want to offer the same to the Western Balkans," adds Schallenberg.

According to him, enlargement is not a one-way street, both sides have to prepare and speed up efforts.

"But if we discuss EU reforms and our preparedness, we must not let this become a pretext for delaying the Western Balkans’ enlargement. The Treaty of Lisbon provides all instruments necessary for the accession of the Western Balkan countries," notes the Austrian FM.

Osmani says reform in the EU and enlargement are not excluding but closely complementing each other and best if executed in parallel.

"What we should do on our part is to concentrate on the reforms, open clusters and utilise the possibilities of the new methodology to offer our citizens more integration benefits along the way and already before membership. Until we finish our homework there is plenty of time for the EU to prepare itself," says the North Macedonia FM.

He believes the first serious test that the EU thinks serious business about the next enlargement will come during the discussions over the next EU budget for 2028-34, but also next month’s decision on the revision of the current one.

"If we are included in these frameworks, it would mean in concrete terms that the conditions for its materialisation are set. I dare to say that this new geopolitical momentum does not allow for any excuses on the matter of enlargement – on the contrary – the EU needs to make the necessary steps immediately and without further hesitation, meaning already at next week’s EU summit, to concretely showcase willingness for enlargement," stresses Osmani.

On EU’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, Osmani says it is a step in the right direction and should be extended further, "as we move further and fulfil the criteria for acceding to the Single Market and enabling our eligibility for structural and cohesion funds".

"While IPA funds aim to support reforms with financial and technical assistance, structural and cohesion funds aim to support job creation, business competitiveness, economic growth, sustainable development, and improve citizens’ quality of life. If the EU doesn’t act and urgently improve this disparity, there is a risk that our development tracks will never meet in the future and the divergence will further rise. That’s why the Growth Plan is a step in the right direction but should be sustained in the future to a level to be able to achieve convergence," says Osmani.

Schallenberg agrees the plan is a step in the right direction, but now we need to see rapid implementation of the proposed integration of the Western Balkans into some single market areas.

"It is also a good proposal to link further funds to stronger conditionality and the fulfilment of the existing reform agenda. Austria wants to see a clear implementation agenda and the first results in 2024. On top of that, we need to improve our communication in the region. Already today, the EU and its member states are the largest donors and investors in the region, but disinformation from other players has not been without effect," says Schallenberg.

He hopes that the people of North Macedonia will continue to strive for a European future and I hope that the country will be able to make the necessary constitutional changes so that it can take the next steps towards the EU.

On what can be achieved by the European elections and before the end of the current EU institutional cycle, Schallenberg says visible progress in the accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania and the opening of accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina would be clear achievements.

"Let me assure you that Austria sees North Macedonia as a strong future partner in the EU and we will continue to wholeheartedly support the country on its EU integration path. Not only because we are a friend of the Western Balkans, but also because it is a geostrategic necessity," says the Austrian FM.

According to Osmani, It would be important to include enlargement in the EU’s next budgetary cycle.

A basic package could include at least attending sectoral ministerial meetings without voting rights and participation in the EU’s Single Market (as in the Commission’s proposal). This model could depend on certain prerequisites such as the candidates’ full alignment with the EU’s CFSP for the seat at the Foreign Affairs Council table. North Macedonia has a 100% CFSP alignment together with an impeccable visa alignment as a clear sign of our geostrategic positing. And to be perfectly honest, it is damaging our economy, but we remain committed Europeans. That is why we need incentives from the EU to show that the EU stands by our side, too," concludes Osmani.

Photo: EPA