Group Friends of the Western Balkans: There Can Be No Shortcuts to EU Membership, but Partial Integrations Is Possible

Western Balkans (Photo: Nevena Zaric)

Foreign ministers of the countries members of the Group Friends of the Western Balkans in Bratislava on May 12 agreed that the European Union (EU) cannot afford to waste time in the current geopolitical turbulence and must continue the enlargement process without shortcuts, based on criteria, but that it needs to speed up the process by integrating the candidate countries into some structures even before they are granted full membership. 

“Enlargement remains a process that is based on criteria. But for countries to make progress on their accession paths, they must implement reforms, and we know that reforms require time, and in the current unstable geopolitical circumstances we do not have the luxury of wasting time. That is why we must look for new models of integration that will enable our neighbors to integrate faster and deeper into European structures even before full membership,” European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said. 

Speaking at a news conference about examples of speeding up the integration process for these countries before their full membership, Kos and the meeting host, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar, cited SEPA, a cashless euro payment system, which now integrates Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia, and integration into the EU roaming system, which is now being addressed by the EU. 

“If we want to support pro-European forces in the candidate countries, people there must see that the EU path brings results. The EU integration process therefore goes on two tracks, based on the fulfilled criteria, but when they implement a partial reform in that area, we can integrate them even before full membership,” Kos noted.

Minister Blanar said that everyone is aware that double standards must not be applied in the enlargement process and that the accession process of the Western Balkan countries, whom the EU promised membership 20 years ago, is taking too long.

“There are six billion euros in the funds intended for Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. This is an area where we can better use the funds to better connect and prepare the candidates for EU integration. I have expressed pessimism because there is little time left and a small portion of funds has been invested,” Blanar said, appealing for quicker use of those funds.