The President of the Slovenian National Assembly, Igor Zorčič, promised on Monday 28 June at the second summit of the Presidents of the Western Balkan Parliaments and the European Parliament that his country, which will hold the EU Council Presidency, would work on the accession process of the Western Balkan countries.
“As a result of the economic crisis and the pandemic lockdown, there were delays in the enlargement process. Steps must be taken that will send the message that the process is not deadlocked”, he explained, promising that the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council would focus on this issue.
“For the first time in the history of the EU, the term ‘deepening’ carries more weight than the term ‘enlargement’. We are threatened by a real paradigm shift”, worried the President of the Kosovar Assembly, Glauk Konjufca. “We need to return to the courage and optimism of 2004 and consider a joint accession. It would be difficult to envisage memberships divorced of one another”, he added.
The Speakers of the Albanian and Macedonian Parliaments called for the organisation of the first Intergovernmental Conferences (IGC). Albanian Gramoz Ruçi did not hide his “frustration at the slowing down of the process, for reasons that have nothing to do with [his country] or certain passions linked to the Western Balkans”. While underlining the many achievements of his country, Mr Ruçi said he was aware that Albania was “far from perfect”, but that the results already achieved should enable it to obtain a concrete date for the IGC. “It makes no sense to wait any longer”, he warned.
“We do not want our history to affect our future. [...] If we are not integrated, it will have a bad influence within the country and with neighbours”, warned Talat Xhaferi, the President of the Assembly of North Macedonia, adding that the sooner his country had a date for the IGC, “the better”.
Bakir Izetbegović, Speaker of the Bosnian House of Peoples, promised that his country was moving with determination towards EU membership and that all political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina had chosen the EU.
The President of the Montenegrin Parliament, Aleksa Bečić, emphasised regional cooperation. “Montenegro cannot achieve full membership without cooperation with its neighbours. It is only in that way that the region can become part of the world’s most advanced alliance”, he said. According to him, it is necessary to look for the mutually-shared points, respect each other, and be partners on an equal level.
The Speaker of the Serbian National Assembly, Ivica Dačić, has even called for the establishment of a permanent forum or format to nurture and intensify dialogue and to improve cooperation between parliaments in the region. He also said he was open to further cooperation with the European Parliament.
See the joint declaration of the summit: https://bit.ly/3h9iEmG (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)