EU Accelerates Membership of Six Balkan Countries to "Strengthen Anti-Russian Front"

Strengthening Solidarity through the 'Tirana Declaration'

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The European Union (EU) held its first summit with six Western Balkan countries, accelerating their EU accession process. This move is interpreted as an effort to strengthen solidarity amid the heightened geopolitical importance of the Balkans due to the war in Ukraine.

According to the European Parliament on the 6th (local time), the EU-Western Balkans summit was held in Tirana, the capital of Albania. This was the first time the EU held a summit in the Western Balkans region.

At the summit, discussions were held on the war in Ukraine, security enhancement, resilience building, immigration, terrorism, and crime issues. The summit was attended by leaders from the 27 EU member states and the six Western Balkan countries: Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

These six countries have long sought EU membership, but accession negotiations had not progressed. After the summit, the EU reaffirmed its support for the Western Balkans through the "Tirana Declaration." This is interpreted as a commitment to strengthen solidarity to prevent the Western Balkan countries, waiting for EU membership, from losing patience and falling under Russian influence.

In the Tirana Declaration, they stated, "Russia bears full responsibility for the current energy and economic crises, and the EU will continue to support its Western Balkan partners."

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, said, "The future of our children will be safer and more prosperous within the EU together with the Western Balkans," adding, "We are working very hard to advance EU accession negotiations."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters after the summit, "Compared to a few years ago, there was a new and more positive atmosphere among EU member states regarding the prospect of Western Balkan countries joining the EU."

The EU sent a message of integration by promising 1 billion euros (about 1.4 trillion KRW) in support for data roaming discounts and to overcome the energy crisis in the Western Balkans region.

The EU's move to strengthen solidarity with the Western Balkan countries is due to the increased geopolitical importance of the Balkans following the war in Ukraine.

Robert Golob, Prime Minister of Slovenia, an EU member state, pointed out, "The EU had forgotten about the Western Balkan countries until Russia invaded Ukraine, after which it began to recognize their importance again."

The six Western Balkan countries requested the EU to expedite their accession process. Vjosa Osmani, President of Kosovo, said, "We will submit our EU membership application by the end of this year," and expressed hope that Kosovo's visa waiver proposal would be approved at next week's summit.

Although the EU promised to speed up the accession of the six Western Balkan countries, the outlook is not optimistic. Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium, said, "I know there has been progress and there is a strong desire to do this quickly, but there are no shortcuts."

In fact, Croatia, the last country to join the EU, took 10 years to become a member. The EU accession process involves application, obtaining official candidate status, conducting formal accession negotiations, and approval stages.

Especially in the case of Serbia, which refuses to join Western sanctions against Russia and has strong pro-Russian tendencies, it is uncertain whether EU accession will be realized. Aleksandar Vu?i?, President of Serbia, said, "Serbia is on the path to the EU and will continue to be, but we need to protect our interests."

Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said, "The Western Balkans have chosen the path to the EU. For this, we expect the Western Balkans to implement key reforms and demonstrate the will to embrace European ambitions and spirit."