Western Balkan liberal leaders call for dynamic and credible EU Enlargement by incoming Commission

Ahead of the commissioner line-up proposal of the new old European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the leaders of the Western Balkan liberal parties called for more dynamic EU enlargement process, as well as consistent and credible EU commitment.  There is optimism that with strong reforms and EU engagement, some, if not all, Western Balkan countries could achieve membership by 2030, though concerns remain about internal political issues, anti-Western propaganda, and regional instability. 

Vatroslav Belan, leader of LPCG from the frontrunner Montenegro, stressed the importance of a pro-European government in Montenegro and advocates for a regatta approach to enlargement. “In Montenegro’s government and parliamentary majority, we have a strong influence of entities that are ideologically pro-Russian, and fundamentally anti-Western, anti-European, anti-NATO. The EU must be crystal clear that a double game is not possible,” said Belan.

Serbia’s PSG leader, Pavle Grbović MP, believes that EU’s strategic determination for including the Western Balkans will not change. Nonetheless, he shared concerns about Serbia’s slow progress: “Serbia has a good opportunity to jump over several steps on which it got stuck due to serious deficiencies regarding rule of law, but it not happening because the government has neither the courage nor the knowledge to implement the necessary reforms.”

The need for a more dynamic approach in North Macedonia’s accession process is advocated by LDP’s President Monika Zajkova MP.  She believes in the benefits of staged enlargement based solely on fulfilment of Copenhagen criteria for membership: “EU can no longer allow itself double standards. The EU needs to clearly say it wants these countries inside or it will leave them under the influence of other powers.”

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Minister of Transportation and NS leader Edin Forto hopes for a collective push for membership of all Western Balkan countries by 2030. “Clear that majority of citizens want EU accession and they want Bosnia and Herzegovina to deliver better in this process,” reminds Minister Forto.

In Kosovo, which is yet to be recognised as an EU candidate, PDK’s president Memli Krasniqi MP speaks on the need to end the deadlock in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. He is adamant: “I do believe that we need a reset of relations between Kosovo and EU. Both in terms of the dialogue with Serbia, but also in terms of serving the larger agenda of enlargement.”

Roman Jakič, LIBSEEN leader proposes EU sponsoring member states to advocate for candidate countries and urged a genuine alignment with EU standards rather than merely fulfilling conditions. Jakič expresses his conviction that Kaja Kallas as the new EU’s foreign chief, being both a liberal and a representative of a small country will understand that the existing enlargement void needs to be filled.

For the future, they suggest that ALDE and Renew Europe should ask the new European Commission to focus on several key actions to enhance the credibility and effectiveness of the enlargement process with the Western Balkans and to achieve the strategic interests of both the Union and the Western Balkans:

Revitalise the enlargement agenda
Introduce a Staged integration approach
Strengthen EU support mechanisms
Address regional stability and external influences
Set a realistic timeline

You will read more about their opinions and analyses, as well as the proposals from the region on the EU enlargement with the Western Balkans, in the publication Western Balkans Reverse Report, which will be published in a few weeks by ELF as part of the 2024 EU Meets the Balkans 3.0. series.