EU and Western Balkan representatives met in Bled on Wednesday to kick off the 2021 Bled Strategic Summit. While the summit features a diverse program, including meetings on post-pandemic recovery and green transformation, the conversation yesterday was dominated by the topic of EU enlargement.
During his opening remarks, Slovenian President Borut Pahor urged the EU to make enlargement a priority, calling the current stalemate, a “moral problem,” and not just a political one.
Oliver Varhelyi, the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, said that the EU has no time to waste and must make concrete steps forward toward integration.
Varhelyi praised the commitment of Western Balkan leaders to the process, calling the Open Balkan initiative “positive step.” Nevertheless, he also stressed that any region-wide process towards a Common Regional Market must be inclusive.
In June, the General Affairs Council of the EU failed to reach an agreement on starting EU accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia.
Bulgaria’s veto on North Macedonia made a unanimous decision of the 27 ministers of foreign affairs impossible, which also penalized Albania. The former two countries have been at odds over language and cultural issues.
Serbia and Montenegro have made little progress in accession talks in the past two years and a half.
Meanwhile, Kosovo’s European future is tied to the outcome of the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue on the normalization of relations. Kosovo remains the only country in the region not allowed visa-free travel to the Schengen despite meeting all requirements.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seized the opportunity to voice his displeasure towards Germany and Bulgaria.
“On the one hand, [the EU] tells us they love us, that one day they will marry us. But until that day comes, we can’t talk to them, nor can we talk to others,” he quipped.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti took a more positive stance, saying that the European Union should be supported and protected, which would require each aspiring member country to implement the necessary reforms.
