| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.9, No.23, 19.6.03, p14 |
| Publication Date | 19/06/2003 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 19/06/03 The prevailing view is that the future of the western Balkans lies within the EU, but the five states have a long way to go, writes David Cronin THE Greeks made sure that their European Union presidency was rich with symbolism. They had ten incoming members of the Union sign an accession treaty in the shadow of Athens' Acropolis, the putative birthplace of democracy, in April. This weekend they will extend a gesture of solidarity to four ex-Yugoslav republics and Albania in Thessaloniki. The southern city is an apt venue for holding out the hand of friendship to the "western Balkans" (a phrase coined by EU leaders at their 1998 summit in Vienna). It was founded in 315 BC by King Cassander of Macedonia and soon became the commercial centre of Macedonia and the Balkan peninsula. But will Saturday's EU-Balkans summit offer anything more than symbolism to a region of some 24 million people that has become synonymous with ethnic tensions? A draft of the declaration likely to be issued by EU heads of state and government on Saturday (21 June) makes clear there is a prospect of the five countries involved (Bosnia, Croatia, Albania, Macedonia and the Serbia-Montenegro federation) eventually joining the Union. It says "the future of the Balkans is within the European Union" but the speed of moving ahead "lies in the hands of the countries of the region". Brussels officials see that caveat as crucial. "The countries that want to become EU members have to get on with each other as well as with us," remarked one, adding that the Union expects them to actively participate in the Union-Balkans forum, which is being launched to discuss everything from environment issues to international affairs. A desire to join the EU transcends ethnic divisions in the region. As a paper, published by German think-tank the Bertelsmann Foundation late last year, stated: "Kosovo's Albanians and Serbs may disagree on almost every issue of political relevance, but neither of them seriously envisages a future outside the framework of EU integration." Some leaders in the region have been advocating a high-speed route to the Union. Serbia's Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic (profiled on Page 10) has voiced hopes of his country being a member by 2007, a wish considered to belong in the realm of fantasy by staff in the European Commission. Trajko Slaveski, president of the Association for Modern Economy in Macedonia, believes nonetheless that target dates should be set in Thessaloniki. "Maybe deadlines for further association and even accession should be stated," he says. "Without them, it would be very difficult for political elites and the citizens in this country to reach consensus on meeting European standards. Demoralization would start to grow. "The target date [for membership] should not be later than five years. That would help in marginalizing all groups who are creating obstacles to progress and it would give more credibility to forces working harder to bring Macedonian standards closer to European standards." The social and economic problems facing the Balkans - due to a legacy of wars and communism - are staggering. When Josip Broz Tito was head of Yugoslavia, he oversaw the foundation of a network of socially-owned firms. In Bosnia, for example, these yielded 2,500 new jobs per month during the 1970s. Yet industry was inefficiently run across the region and has declined steadily in recent years. At the dawn of the new millennium, the combined economic output of the five countries was 20% below the corresponding level in 1989. Unemployment has been around 35% in Macedonia and Bosnia in the past few years, and productivity has fallen below half of that in central European states. The EU is a major donor to the western Balkans. It has given €7 billion since 1991. By 2006, that sum should grow to more than €11 billion. The Greek presidency has advocated even greater generosity, however. A paper it presented last month to other EU governments suggests an additional €300 million per year for the region in 2004-06. But Italy, Austria and Luxembourg were the only member states which have fully endorsed that proposal. So EU diplomats have been working on an alternative plan. They are examining ways of building on a separate Commission blueprint for boosting aid by €70 million per annum in the next three years, as well as examining possible contributions for the longer term. Speaking at an Athens conference last month, George Papandreou, the Greek foreign minister, acknowledged some EU countries are suffering from "enlargement fatigue" and are therefore reacting in a lukewarm manner towards the western Balkan countries. "Some member states have been saying we need to see more reforms, that perhaps these countries are not ready," he explained. "But we need to give them a new vision and accelerate progress towards membership." Despite the fatigue which is creeping in, the EU is due to offer a number of programmes - already tried and tested on the Union's incoming states - to the western Balkans. As part of so-called European partnership deals, the countries are due to be involved in "twinning" schemes. These involve sending civil servants from the national administrations of EU states to work alongside their counterparts in the region, advising them on adapting to the Union's standards. Moreover, a "technical assistance information exchange" set up to help central and eastern European states adopt the Union's body of laws - the acquis communautaire - is due to be made available to the western Balkans. "Stabilization" has been the key word used by policymakers discussing the current transition phase in the Balkans. Fortunately, the wars which blighted the region in the 1990s are over and some progress towards a durable peace can be discerned. But an incident which occurred in the early hours of 4 June in Obilic, Kosovo, serves as a poignant reminder of how far the region has to go before it upholds the multicultural values to which EU leaders will doubtlessly refer in Thessaloniki. An elderly couple belonging to Kosovo's Serb minority and their 50-year-old son were killed by Albanian extremists. Slobodan Rolic was shot in the head, his wife Radmilla and son Ljubkina were both stabbed to death. The murders were vicious but, for Balkan watchers, they brought with them a sense of déjà vu. The potential future membership of the countries of the Western Balkans to the EU was discussed at a summit in Thessaloniki on 21 June 2003. |
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| Countries / Regions | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Southeastern Europe |
