The future of EU enlargement

There have certainly been better times for EU enlargement. Today, rather than concentrate on its expansion, the EU is preoccupied with a number of other challenges, from the economic-cum-fiscal-debt crisis, to the revolutions in the Arab world, to military missions old and new.

Not only has EU enlargement been placed on the back burner; for more than half of the South East European aspirants, the process is practically stuck. Macedonia was given the green light for accession negotiations by the European Commission, but finds its path blocked by Greece, which objects to the country’s official name. Bosnia cannot move forward on account of its protectorate status, which a number of countries, including the US and the UK, are unwilling to change. Kosovo, the other Balkan protectorate, is in an even worse position. Given that the EU cannot treat Kosovo as a state – five of its members do not recognise it as such – any formal progress is extremely difficult. Albania, mocking basic European democratic standards, is essentially blocking itself.