The Western Balkans leaving the EU dream behind
Al JazeeraIs there a need for the European Union to publicly recommit to the “enlargement” process, or would it be enough for it to merely voice its support for the “European perspective” of the Western Balkans? In the end, after their gathering at Brdo pri Kranju, a 16th-century castle tucked away in the Slovenian countryside, the EU leaders issued a declaration in which they not only “reaffirmed the European perspective of the Western Balkans”, but also the EU’s “commitment to the enlargement process”. Supporting the “European perspective” of “the Western Balkans partners”, vague though it sounds – or rather, precisely because it sounds vague – comes a lot easier to most EU leaders than uttering the word “enlargement”. Just like it is the case in the EU, there is also a significant appetite for “strategic autonomy” in the Western Balkans. Moreover, partially due to the EU’s apparent reluctance to move forward with membership negotiations, pro-government media organisations across the Western Balkans regularly downplay or outright criticise the EU pandemic support efforts in the region, while praising non-Western powers for their contributions.
History of this topic
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