Council Presidency wrong. Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of the country currently presiding over the Community Council has described the current state of EU enlargement as dramatic. In his opinion, support for Balkan countries has never been so weak and he has urged the big member states to end their reservations in this connection (EUROPE 10359). Although Mr Orbán has appealed for the EU to demonstrate its political determination in this regard, he has not said anything about the responsibility of candidate countries for the slowness of the accession process. The different analyses made suggest that these countries are not fulfilling the conditions necessary for becoming member states or even beginning negotiations. Yesterday, this column acknowledged the Presidency of the Council's increasing understanding of the Community environment but it does not yet appear aware of the need for all new member states to not only accept European rules but also for them to be able to apply these rules too. Strict compliance is indispensable as a matter of principle but it is also crucial because a country that joins the EU but which is not really ready to do so, weakens the EU and waters it down as a whole, preventing it from developing common policies.
Every candidate is in charge of the process. Has Mr Orbán bothered to read what the president of the Commission said during his recent visit to the Balkans and what he said to MEPs a few days later? Mr Barroso stressed that each Balkan country has its own future in its hands. He also asserted that these countries should turn the page of their recent past and that their accession prospects depended on the progress made in the reform process. He highlighted each country's shortcomings, the demands that needed to be met and the reforms required in the legal field, fighting corruption and the freedom of information. He made a number of specific references to individual countries, such as Montenegro and the fight against organised crime, Albania and clarity with regard to how its democracy functions, and he stressed that certain countries are more advanced than others.
Serbia warrants particular mention. On two occasions (including at the Serbian parliament), Commissioner Stefan Füle explained that the Commission would be waiting until the end of the year to give a positive opinion on accession and possibly propose opening negotiations. Whilst recognising that Belgrade has strengthened its legislative framework and launched it in the right direction, the commissioner affirmed that in areas where reforms are still required “we need more, much more”. (EUROPE 10348). The European Parliament has also spoken out on this issue and made similar observations.
It is clear that there is no relationship between the situations that exist and the conditions that still need to be met, on the one hand, and the aggressive tone adopted by Mr Orbán when he called for the accession process to be speeded up, on the other.
The particular case of Bosnia-Herzegovina requires a number of specific comments.
Bosnia-Herzegovina: a mistake right from the beginning? In one of her most explicit declarations, Catherine Ashton harshly criticised a decision made by the Srpska Republic to hold a referendum in which the people can express their opinions with regard to how Bosnia-Herzegovina is structured and how Bosnia's autonomy would function in this context. Ms Ashton asserts that this behaviour is making the chances of the whole country joining the EU, more remote. Only constructive political dialogue between the different entities making up Bosnia-Herzegovina would allow for reforms to begin, which are needed for making progress towards EU accession (EUROPE 10360). This clearly means that in the current situation, the road to EU accession is closed. I also have to ask myself whether the main reason for the current situation is due to a certain rhetoric expressed by the EU, which would have liked to have brought the different enclaves together in an artificial state. These enclaves do not consider themselves as a unitary whole at all and they will never become so either.
David Owen, the former British minister for foreign affairs, was the EU Special Envoy in Bosnia from September 1992 to May 1995. After stepping down from this post he affirmed that the creation of Bosnia-Herzegovina had been a huge mistake. This state brings together three different communities: Croats, Serbs and Bosnians, who had fought each other very cruelly and whose aspiration consisted of nothing other than to rejoin their respective ethnic groups. This was geographically impossible because the different groups did not always occupy distinctly specific ethnic areas and regional subdivision of the country was not an option. Mr Owen, however, thought that it would have been preferable to have accepted the results of past conflicts and allowed for the division to be made on these painful foundations, rather than create an artificial and unmanageable state. The result is plain to see. Ms Ashton should understand that the structure opted for was mistaken, that the EU bears a certain responsibility and that instead of blaming the Bosnian people, it should try and find a solution.
(F.R./transl.fl)