Skip to main content
Search for articles, authors, keywords
Abstract:

The European Union promised the successor states of the former Yugoslavia and Albania in 2003 that their place was in the European Union. Still, 22 years later, only Slovenia and Croatia have joined, in 2004 and 2013, respectively. The European Union and the states of the Western Balkans blame each other for the sluggish progress on enlargement. The EU agenda is burdened by many other matters and moves from “crisis to crisis” (eurozone, migration, internal discord, insufficient commitment to European defense). It seems never to have time for the Western Balkans, a geographical exclave of the European Union. Being the region’s leading trade partner and investor, the European Union does not feel an urgent need to connect the states with the bond of membership. Nor does it view the creeping presence of various other actors (China, Russia, Türkiye, the Gulf states) as a major challenge. The European Union considers the Western Balkans to have reached negative peace, at least, and thus to be sufficiently stable. The Western Balkan states, with their often sluggish development, backsliding on democracy (Serbia), separatism (Bosnia and Herzegovina), high levels of corruption (Serbia), governmental instability (North Macedonia), public dissent, and absence of comprehensive international recognition (Kosovo), provide the European Union with convenient excuses. However, the European Union is also cautious about repeating past mistakes – integrating states that promise everything during the accession process but deliver very little afterward, thereby eroding cohesion. Such countries cause severe damage to the enlargement process even as they loudly proclaim their support for it.

Creative Commons BY-SA

Article statistics

Dunay, Pàl. (2023) 2023. “The European Union in the Western Balkans: It Takes Two to Tangle”. Connections: The Quarterly Journal 22 (4): 61-83. doi:https://doi.org/10.11610/Connections.22.4.04.
305 Views
173 Downloads

Bibliography

“2022 Enlargement Package: European Commission Assesses Reforms in the Western Balkans and Türkiye and Recommends Candidate Status for Bosnia and Herzegovina,” European Commission, Brussels, October 12, 2022, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/%20en/ip_22_6082.

“2022 State of the Union Address by President von der Leyen: A Union that Stands Strong Together,” European Commission, September 14, 2022, accessed February 16, 2024, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_22_5493.

“2023 State of the Union Address by President von der Leyen: Answering the Call of History,” European Commission, September 13, 2023, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_23_4426.

“Balkan Barometer 2023 Business Opinion, Key Findings,” Regional Cooperation Council, June 2023, https://www.rcc.int/balkanbarometer/key_findings/1/business.

“Balkan Barometer 2023 Public Opinion, Key Findings,” Regional Cooperation Council, June 2023, https://www.rcc.int/balkanbarometer/key_findings/2/public.

“Balkan Barometer 2023 Public Opinion,” Analytical Report (Sarajevo: Regional Cooperation Council, June 2023), https://www.rcc.int/download/docs/BB%202023-PO.pdf/5495f3e223e456e99fc3bdce76054b7e.pdf.

“Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions: A Credible Enlargement Perspective for and Enhanced EU Engagement with the Western Balkans,” Strasbourg, June 2, 2018, COM (2018) 65 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52018DC0065.

“Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: New Growth Plan for the Western Balkans,” European Commission, Brussels, November 8, 2023, COM(2023) 691 final, https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-11/COM_2023_691_New%20Growth%20Plan%20Western%20Balkans.pdf.

“Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: 2022 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy,” European Commission, Brussels, October 12, 2022, COM(2022) 528 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52022DC0528.

“Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union,” Article 7, point 2, Official Journal of the European Union, October 26, 2012, C326/20, 2024, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:2bf140bf-a3f8-4ab2-b506-fd71826e6da6.0023.02/DOC_1&format=PDF.

“Ease of Doing Business Ranking 2020,” accessed March 5, 2024, https://archive.doingbusiness.org/content/dam/doingBusiness/pdf/db2020/Doing-Business-2020_rankings.pdf.

“Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans 2021-2027,” Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, The Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), accessed March 2, 2024, https://www.wbif.eu/eip.

“Enforcement: Frequently Asked Questions,” European Commission, Memo, November 28, 2022, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/memo_12_12.

“European Council in Copenhagen, 21–22 June 1993, Conclusions of the Presidency: 7. Relations with the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe,” accessed February 25, 2024, www.europarl.europa.eu/enlargement/ec/cop_en.htm, https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/21225/72921.pdf.

“EU-Western Balkans Summit, Thessaloniki, 21 June 2003, Declaration,” C/03/163 10229/03 (Presse 163), point 2, June 21, 2003, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/pres_03_163/PRES_03_163_EN.pdf.

“France, Serbia Sign €2.7 billion Rafale Fighter Jet Deal during Macron Visit,” France 24, August 29, 2024, https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240829-fighter-jet-deal-at-centre-of-macron-s-serbia-trip.

“President Jean-Claude Juncker’s State of the Union Address 2017,” European Commission, Brussels, September 13, 2017, accessed February 21, 2024, 22-23, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/attachment/854659/EN-FR-DE-Speech.pdf.

“Sanctions on Russia Are Main Obstacle to Serbia’s EU Bid – PM Brnabic,” Reuters, February 10, 2023, www.reuters.com/world/europe/sanctions-russia-are-main-obstacle-serbias-eu-bid-pm-brnabic-2023-02-10/.

“Serbia, EU and Germany Sign Battery Supply Chain Deal,” Reuters, July 19, 2024, www.reuters.com/sustainability/serbia-eu-germany-sign-battery-supply-chain-deal-2024-07-19/.

“The Henley Passport Index – Global Passport Ranking 2024,” accessed November 24, 2024, https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index/ranking.

“UK and the Western Balkans (IRC Report) – Motion to Take. London,” The House of Lords, May 24, 2018, accessed March 4, 2024, https://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2018-05-24b.1118.0.

“Vucic Says EU Membership Has ‘Lost Magic Power’ for Balkans,” Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, February 23, 2016, http://www.vucic-says-eu-membership-has-lost-magic-power-for-balkans-migrant-crisis-brexit.

“Vucic: Serbia Not to Be Able to Join EU until 2030,” AzerNews, September 1, 2024, https://www.azernews.az/region/230614.html.

“World Economic Outlook (October 2023),” accessed March 5, 2024, https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/EU.

Bechev, Dimitar, “Montenegro’s Window of Opportunity,” Carnegie Europe – Judy Dempsey’s Strategic Europe, March 12, 2024, https://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/91950.

CIA, “The World Factbook,” accessed May 24, 2024, https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/.

Democracy Index 2023: Age of Conflict (London: Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, 2024), https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/Democracy-Index-2023-Final-report.pdf.

Eurostat, “Archive: Western Balkans-EU – International Trade in Goods Statistics,” March 2022, accessed March 4, 2024, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Western_Balkans-EU__international_trade_in_goods_statistics&oldid=526493%5C.

Eurostat, “Enlargement Countries – International Trade in Goods Statistics,” May 2023, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Enlargement_countries_-_international_trade_in_goods_statistics&oldid=627517#Value_of_exports_and_imports.

Eurostat, “GDP per Capita, Consumption per Capita and Price Level Indices,” December 14, 2023, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=GDP_per_capita,_consumption_per_capita_and_price_level_indices.

Hobolt, Sara Binzer, and Sylvain Brouard, “Contesting the European Union? Why the Dutch and the French Rejected the European Constitution,” Political Research Quarterly 64, no. 2 (June 2011): 309-322, https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912909355713.

Human Development Report 2023-24 – Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarized World (New York, NY: United Nations Development Programme, 2024), https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf.

Jérôme, Bruno, and Nicolas G. Vaillant, “The French Rejection of the European Constitution: An Empirical Analysis,” European Journal of Political Economy 21, no. 4 (2005): 1085-1092, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2005.09.005

Jevtić, Jelena, “Vučić Reiterates Refusal to Sanction Russia: ‘A Friend in Need Is a Friend Indeed’,” Euractiv.rs, February 21, 2024, www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/vucic-reiterates-refusal-to-sanction-russia-a-friend-in-need-is-a-friend-indeed/.

Judah, Tim, “Good News from the Western Balkans: Yugoslavia is Dead – Long Live the Yugosphere,” LSEE Papers, London School of Economics and Political Science, 2009, https://www.lse.ac.uk/LSEE-Research-on-South-Eastern-Europe/Assets/Documents/Publications/Paper-Series-on-SEE/Yugosphere.pdf.

Juncker, Jean-Claude, “A New Start for Europe: Opening Statement in the European Parliament Plenary Session,” Strasbourg, July 15, 2014, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_14_567.

Nič, Milan, et al., “Montenegro’s EU Push: Imminent Opportunities and Challenges,” German Council on Foreign Relations, DGAP Memo No. 3, March 5, 2024, https://dgap.org/system/files/article_pdfs/DGAP-MEMO-03-2024_EN_0.pdf.

Nikolić, Jelena, “EU Commission Report Shows Serbia Has Not Regressed, Only Stagnated, Says PM,” Euractiv, November 9, 2023, https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/eu-commission-report-shows-serbia-has-not-regressed-only-stagnated-says-pm/.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Labor Migration in the Western Balkans: Mapping Patterns, Addressing Challenges and Reaping Benefits, Global Relations – Policy Insights (Paris: OECD, 2022), 20, 12, https://www.oecd.org/south-east-europe/programme/Labour-Migration-report.pdf.

Palacio, Ana, “Is Europe Too Big for Further Enlargement,” Social Europe, May 24, 2024, https://www.socialeurope.eu/is-europe-too-big-for-further-enlargement.

Pavičić, Vesna, “Serbia’s Orientation Challenge and Ways to Overcome It,” Connections: The Quarterly Journal 18, no. 1-2 (2019): 111-127, https://doi.org/10.11610/Connections.18.1-2.07

Preussen, Wilhelmine, “Serbia ‘Not Enthusiastic’ about EU Membership Anymore, Says President,” Politico, January 19, 2023, https://www.politico.eu/article/serbia-vucic-davos-world-economic-forum-european-union-membership/.

Rettman, Andrew, “Poland to Veto EU Sanctions on Hungary,” EUobserver, September 13, 2018, https://euobserver.com/rule-of-law/142825.

Roth, Michael, “Op Ed: The Future of the Western Balkans Is at Stake,” Internationale Politik Quarterly, September 23, 2022, https://ip-quarterly.com/en/op-ed-future-western-balkans-at-stake.

Taylor-Braçe, Alice, “Open Balkan Initiative Can Negatively Impact Region, Study Says,” Euractiv, August 30, 2022, https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/open-balkan-initiative-could-negatively-impact-region-study-says/.

Tóth, Gergely, and Andrea Horváth Kávai, “Hungary to Vote against UN Resolution on Srebrenica Genocide,” Tel-ex, May 15, 2024, https://telex.hu/english/2024/05/15/hungary-to-vote-against-un-resolution-on-srebrenica-genocide.

Transparency International, “Corruption Perceptions Index 2023,” accessed May 24, 2024, https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2023.

Vásquez, Ian, Fred McMahon, Ryan Murphy, and Guillermina Sutter Schneider, The Human Freedom Index 2023: A Global Measurement of Personal, Civil, and Economic Freedom (Washington, D.C.: The CATO Institute and the Fraser Institute, 2023), https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2023-12/human-freedom-index-2023-full-revised.pdf.

Themes