Thirteen years after the end of an overwhelming three-year war, which led to the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, Bosnia Herzegovina is seriously aspiring to become a member of the European Union. Bosnia is not expected to join the EU until 2015, at the earliest, with 70 per cent of Bosnia’s population being in favour of EU membership.
Since elected as the country’s Prime Minister, Nikola Spiric had given his word to work on reforms that would bring Bosnia closer to membership of NATO and the European Union itself. In actual fact, Bosnia must first reform its constitution and all citizens must accept the state if the country is to join the EU.
I recognise one particular but big problem for Bosnia and other former “Yugoslav republic countries” when discussing their possible EU accession – their politicians frequently fail to deliver existing benefits for their citizens. Hence this is why the country’s attempt to complete their post-war recovery and move into the next phase, towards an accession in the European Union, has been postponed for too long.
Today, the European Union is getting larger and Bosnia is not the only “Balkan country” seeking a full membership in the European Union. Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and Macedonia are other potential candidates to join the European institution. Obviously I am not mentioning Turkey’s candidature, but as a substitute member in the delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, I had the occasion to talk several times about this country’s possible accession in the EU.
The Balkan progress within the European Union has been in the news for the last years as Slovenia was the first former Yugoslav republic to join the EU, coincidentally with Malta, in May 2004. Since then other neighbouring countries started their negotiations to access the EU. Slovenia was capable enough to set an example for the other neighbouring countries as it enjoys a substantial economic and political stability. Slovenia was the 12th member of the euro zone on 1 January 2007.
In October 2005, another south-eastern European country, Croatia, started entry talks with the EU. Actually Croatia may be ready to join the EU by the end of this decade but they might have problems reforming EU institutions as they are being recommended to reform their judiciary and public administration, and keep cooperating with the war crimes tribunal.
Macedonia was confirmed as EU candidate in December 2005. It has been suggested that this country may be prepared to join the EU in 2012. This date is still to be discussed as the European’s Union Enlargement Commissioner, Olli Rehn, in February 2007 had issued an unusually harsh warning to Macedonia,
following the tension between the ruling conservatives and Macedonia’s largest ethnic Albanian party DUI.
Moreover, according to a number of politicians and analysts, the failure of this south-eastern European country to secure an invitation to join NATO at the Alliance’s summit, despite the accession of its neighbours, Croatia and Albania, could have an unhelpful impact on its bid to join the EU. Last weekend Prim Minister, Nikola Gruevski claimed a victory for his centre-right in Macedonia’s general election. His party campaigned for EU and NATO membership. This result may augur well for Macedonia to join the EU in the near future.
Another potential candidate for membership in the European Union that forms part of the Balkan nations is Albania. In EU terms this country is moving too slowly in fight against corruption and organised crime and Albania is not expected to join the EU until 2015, as it has not yet applied for membership. In June 2006, both EU and Albania reached a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), which is seen as the primary stage en route for membership. In reality, EU negotiations with Albania took three times longer then they took in Croatia’s and Macedonia’s case.
Like Albania, Serbia is unlikely to join the EU before 2015 due to many domestic problems and extensive reforms that need to be implemented, and the current institutional crisis in the EU. Serbia opened SAA talks with the EU three years ago but the EU called off these negotiations in May 2006 because of Belgrade’s failure to arrest former Bosnian Serb general, Ratko Mladic. Eventually later in the year, Montenegro voted for independence. Last November, Serbia and EU initialed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement and according to Serbia’s President Boris Tadic, the country is on the lookout to be an official candidate for European Union membership later this year.
Greece is commonly included as a Balkan country too and since its accession in the European Union in 1981, the country has gone a long way achieving various achievements. The last EU enlargement took place more than a year ago, in 2007, with Bulgaria and Romania joining forces. Before joining the EU, these two countries had to improve economic growth, institute reforms including judicial reform, increased judicial cooperation with other member states, and measures to combat corruption. However, according to Brussels reports, both countries are described as the two most corrupt countries in the EU. The EU has, to a certain extent, frozen EU funds of about €450m and may freeze up more if Bulgarian authorities do not show firm progress in fighting corruption and in speeding up reforms.
In the near future, the EU will eventually grow bigger in terms of member states and this is a good sign for a healthy and a stronger European institution. But at the same time, the EU and its member states need to be sure that all candidate states will fulfil the economic and political conditions known as the Copenhagen criteria, hence guaranteeing a secular and democratic
government.
David Casa is a Nationalist MEP
www.davidcasa.eu
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