Brussels, 31/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European prospects of the Balkan countries will once again be reiterated by the EU during a high-level conference to be held in Sarajevo on Wednesday 2 June bringing together foreign ministers of EU member states and their colleagues from all countries of the region: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and Kosovo. The United States, Turkey and Russia will take part as key players in the region. NATO, the OSCE and the Venice Commission will also be represented. The European Commission will be represented by Commissioner Stefan Füle (enlargement) and High Representative Catherine Ashton. EU representatives for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, Valentin Inzko and Pieter Feith, as well as the head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Lamberto Zannier, will also attend. The presence of Kosovars and Serbs around the same table is ensured thanks to a special diplomatic formula (the “Gymnich formula”), which provides for participants to be represented by only their individual names without further indication - such as state names, flags or symbols - as to whom they represent.
Ten years after the Zagreb summit in November 2000, during which the EU had solemnly affirmed the Balkan countries' “European perspective and their status as potential candidates for membership”, the Spanish Presidency of the EU convened the meeting in Sarajevo to send several messages to be expressed in a “statement from the Presidency” that Miguel Angel Moratinos will present at the end of the meeting. The first message is that the prospect of membership has been confirmed for all Balkan states but achieving this will depend on the way each of the countries concerned carry out reforms and meet accession criteria. Coming right in the middle of the economic and financial crisis, when the EU is faced with existential problems (euro) and when enlargement no longer gives rise to great enthusiasm in the different capitals, the European prospects of the Balkans come as a politically important reminder. “We believe the European Union is going through a kind of enlargement weariness. However, if enlargement policy comes to a halt because of the economic crisis, the bloc would be committing a huge and irreversible mistake that would have terrible consequences on the region”, Serb President Boris Tadic said on 29 May. “The crisis was not created in the EU because of its enlargement policy (…) and our nationals should not have to pay the cost of this crisis”, he said in Sarajevo at a meeting with the presidents of the three other former Yugoslav republics (Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro). The four presidents, moreover, called on the EU to “step up the pace” of the process for accession by the countries of the region. The Sarajevo declaration is also expected to reiterate the principle of differentiation, with each country continuing to be treated on the basis of its own merit and moving forward individually according to a rate that is determined by its reform process. Already today, the situation varies considerably from one country to the next. Croatia is in the last phase of membership talks (the aim being to close all chapters by the end of the year). FYROM obtained official status as a candidate country in December 2005 but is still waiting for a date for beginning membership talks (the dispute with Greece over the use of the name “Macedonia” prevents a unanimous Council decision), and Montenegro, Serbia and Albania have submitted their candidacy for accession. Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA) have been sealed with all countries except Kosovo, but ratification of the SAA with Serbia is blocked by the Netherlands which considers that Belgrade is not cooperating sufficiently with the ICTY in arresting the last war criminals. The SAA for Serbia will remain deadlocked in Sarajevo but the dossier should be on the table of the next External Relations Council in mid-June (by then, ICTY Prosecutor General Serge Brammertz may have published a new report on Serbian cooperation with the ICTY). Serbia, Montenegro and FYROM obtained the lifting of visa requirements in 2009. The Commission has recently recommended abolition of the visa requirement for Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina (EUROPE 10147). Another message that will appear in the Sarajevo declaration is that regional cooperation remains vital to move forward along the road towards European integration. (H.B./transl.jl)