The EU Remains Committed to Western Balkans’ European Perspective

EU flag (Pixabay)

The European Union remains firmly committed to the Western Balkans’ European perspective, but the accession process has to be made more efficient, speedier and more predictable for both the candidate countries and member states, says the new enlargement methodology that will be presented in Brussels on Feb. 5.

The document entitled “The enhanced accession process – a credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans” offers to the region’s countries a credible accession perspective as the key incentive for transformation, which is in the political, security and economic interest of both the region and the EU.

The negotiating framework for Serbia and Montenegro, the countries that have begun negotiations, will not change, but the proposed changes may be included in the existing framework if these two countries agree, says the draft document BETA had access to.

Enhancing the accession through the new methodology is based on four fundamental principles: credibility, stronger political leadership, dynamics and predictability, including incentives and sanctions for progress, that is delay  in fulfilling the set conditions and implementing reforms.

Building trust among all involved parties and enhancing the accession approach so as to make it more efficient is of crucial importance. The process must be more predictable, more credible, based on objective criteria and a rigorous positive and negative conditioning and reversibility, more dynamic and under stronger political leadership, the document specifies.

The leaders of the Western Balkans have to show greater credibility in fulfilling their promises and implementing key reforms in the area of the rule of law, fight against corruption, the economy, performance of democratic institutions and aligning of their foreign policies.