With the ‘fast track’ to the accession of Ukrainethe EU has formalized its gesture of support in pursuit of Vlodomir Zelensky but opens a pandora’s box that has been entrenched for years: the balkan swarm. Bosnia, Albania, Macedonia or Kosovo are some of the regions that have been waiting in line for years to enter the ‘club’ of 27. For this reason, this Thursday, on the occasion of the Balkan Summit who has already recognized ukrainian candidacy and Moldova in record time, unrest has spread to the countries on the eastern flank. Above all, Albania and Macedonia, whose candidacy is blocked by the Bulgarian veto.
The suspicion on the part of the Balkan partners has been evident, and the reformulation of the geopolitical scenario has served to stress European leaders with the demand for concrete progress. The fear of being relegated by the priority of Ukrainian accession and the threat of other powers is something that the president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, has made clear: “We need a clear voice from the EU and a united message for the Balkans,” warning that other “evil factors” can fill the space that the EU does not occupy in the region.
The objective of the summit, thus, is for the Twenty-seven to take this first step with Ukraine and Moldova (whose territory is also threatened by Russian pressure) although it may be reversible if they don’t comply the required reforms by the European Commission. Therefore, with suspicion, even if both countries are accepted as candidates, their incorporation process could take more than a decade. “Macedonia has been a candidate for 18 years and Albania for eight,” declared the Albanian representative ironically.
Review for EU enlargement
In the highlights of the summit’s agenda, the European Council stipulates that one of the objectives is for “EU leaders to clearly express their unequivocal support for the integration of the Western Balkans in the EU and take advantage of the momentum created by geopolitical events to take further steps in cooperation on the European continent. Among the objectives of the meeting is, furthermore, to explore innovative ways to advance the accession talks, encourage reform and advance the gradual integration between the EU and the region, based on the revised EU enlargement methodology.
The review for enlargement is something that should be a priority for the EU, even more so taking into account the tensions aroused in the east with the ‘express’ accession of Ukraine, which has made all the aspirants for European membership impatient. This was referred to by Pedro Sánchez this Thursday, who ratified at the summit Spain’s support for Ukraine and Moldova obtaining the status of candidate countries and supported reinvigorating the debate on enlargement to the Western Balkan countries.
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