‘Balkan states should join before Turkey’

By Andrew Beatty

Date: 12/01/06

Balkans envoy Erhard Busek this week pressed for EU membership for the Western Balkan countries before Turkey's accession to the Union.

Busek, a former Austrian vice-chancellor and current EU special co-ordinator for the Balkan's Stability Pact, said membership remained the only option for the countries of the region.

In an interview, Busek described the EU as important for reform. Potential membership, he said, remained vital for encouraging investment.

An EU pledge to integrate the five states of the Western Balkans - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro - has so far resulted only in Croatia opening membership talks.

"The rest of the Balkans must be part of the EU, there is no alternative," Busek said. "If Turkey shall be a member I think the countries of South East Europe should be part of the EU even earlier."

In a Eurobarometer survey published in December 2005 less than half of those polled were in favour of enlargement.

Busek blamed the EU's 2004 expansion from 15 to 25 members as one of the chief reasons for enlargement fatigue.

"The enlargement by ten countries was quite a step forward and the implementation in some of the new member states is missing, that is for sure." But, he argued, "what is left now is a little bit more than half of Poland therefore it cannot be a big problem".

According to figures compiled by German think-tank Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, income in non-candidate Balkan states is around half that of Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia.

Comments by Erhard Busek, a former Austrian Vice-Chancellor and current EU special co-ordinator for the Balkan's Stability Pact. Busek said that EU Membership remained the only option for the countries of the Western Balkans region.

Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe: Erhard Busek http://www.stabilitypact.org/whois/busek.asp

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