3 minutes agoBalkan membership in the EU, Lajcak: We have a new moment that should not be lost
Periskopi(2 years ago)
(2 years ago)The European Emisar for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, is participating in the Peace and Sustainable Growth Conference in Athens. He in a post on the social network X has shared details from what he had discussed at this conference. “I asked for the prospect of Western Balkans membership and its importance for [...]
He in a post on the social network X has shared details from what he had discussed at this conference.
The “asked for the prospect of Western Balkan membership and its importance for the EU's future at the Peace and Sustainable Growth Conference in Athens, I stressed that we have a new moment, which should not be lost”, wrote the Slovak diplomat.
The six Western Balkan countries -- Kosovo, Albania, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina -- are in different phases of the EU accession process.
The road is long, they have to enclose laws with those of the EU and prove that their institutions and economies meet democratic norms.
The process has gone too slowly, but after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has allocated a 6 billion-euro package to help them both in reforms and to flee Russian influence.
Various opinion polls show that public support for EU membership is different in the entire region of Kosovo and Albania usually have higher results, while lower Serbia.
A poll conducted by Ipsos in Serbia, released in April 2022, has found that 44 per cent of participants have opposed Serbia's EU membership and 35 per cent pro. This has been the first time that negative views have prevailed in this country.
That same year, another poll has shown Montenegro is the most welcome in the EU, while Kosovo is at least.
Today, more than two decades have passed since the Thessaloniki Summit, where Western Balkan countries have been promised European future.
The 2030 deadline, mentioned by Charles Michel, is close enough to lure them into making as much political investments as possible with the EU.
But it's probably the wake-up call for the EU itself that “the calling of history” does not turn into a lost historical chance.
Asked about the perspective of the Western Balkans and its importation for the introduction at the Peace and Modern Environment in Athens, I stressed that we have a new moment, which should not be missed. Pic.twitter.com/xT30xnb0E
(@Miroslav Lajčak) June 17, 2024
