|
Op-ed by Florian Bieber, professor at the
University of Graz and coordinator of the Balkans in Europe Policy
Advisory Group (BiEPAG). Bieber will be a speaker on the event
“Beyond Berlin: What Does the Next Decade Hold for the Western
Balkans?”, organized by Chatham House, European Fund for the Balkans
and DG Near in London on 10 July.
When the Berlin Process was launched five years
ago, it was supposed to trigger a new dynamic to regional
cooperation and bringing the Western Balkans closer towards the EU.
By circumventing formal institutional structures and bringing in all
EU members, the process could avoid excessive duplication of
existing structures, avoid navigating the bothersome difficulties
individual member states brought to the table, like Spain’s
intransigence towards Kosovo’s independence and Greece’s difficult
relations with its northern neighbor Macedonia.
Much has changed since the initial meeting in
Berlin. Cooperation has increased among the Western Balkan countries
significantly and a number of projects and initiatives have been
launched, and bilateral relations have improved, in particular
between Macedonia and both Bulgaria and Greece. Nevertheless, the
Berlin process is in shambles. However, this is not due to the
Western Balkans, but the EU members that are participating.
Already France, when it took over hosting the
summit two years ago, seemed more interested organizing the meeting
in Paris for its own vanity than out of genuine interest or
commitment towards the region. This was confirmed by the recent
petty blockade over giving Macedonian and Albanian a concrete date
to begin accession talks this year.
The London summit was agreed before Brexit, but it
was a folly to pursue a summit in a country that sought to leave the
EU and finds itself, predictably in the hot phase of negotiating its
exit form the EU, while the summit seeks to stay on message that EU
enlargement is realistic and desirable. Keeping the summit in the UK
was not just to British insistence – an effort to define its
post-Brexit role in the Balkans – it was also supported by Germany,
showing how the German government has been using the Berlin process
to curry favors far removed from the concerns of the Western
Balkans.
The resignation of the summits host, Boris
Johnson, during the summit itself shows what gamble keeping the
summit in London was. Furthermore, the preparation of the summit was
distracted by the government’s focus with Brexit, making it a side
show, much to the detriment of the process.
Initially, the Berlin process would have concluded
in London, but the follow Berlin+ initiative seeks another round of
summits, beginning in Poland of all places. Apparently motivated by
a strong interest from the countries of the Visegrad group to be
involved, the choice could be no more off the mark.
Neither has Poland displayed any strategic
interest in the Western Balkans, nor does it provide an encouraging
backdrop for the rule of law in the Western Balkans. Just like
Serbian foreign minister Ivica Dačić can deflect critical questions
on the rule of law in Serbia by mentioning Poland, so can Macron and
other enlargement skeptics mention Poland as to why they won’t
support the membership of the Western Balkans.
Just as the Berlin Process has been hijacked by
some member states, the EU policy towards the Balkans has been
undermined by the shortsighted politicking of members. When the EU
recognized last year that neglect breads crises, destructive
external intervention and democratic backsliding in the Balkans last
year, it reengaged.
Yet, what remains not sufficiently understood is
that this downward spiral in parts of the Western Balkans has been
due to a divided EU that sends contradictory messages and no longer
offers a fair and realistic prospect of joining. Key member states
have demonstrated in recent weeks, that this, unfortunately, as not
changed.
Considering this pattern with EU member states
hijacking the Berlin Process for their own agenda, while adding
little to the process, one should doubt the usefulness of
continuing. After all, the European Commission has absorbed many
aspects of Berlin process in its February 2018 strategy.
Rather than keeping this process in the hands of a
growing number of countries, it would be better to have an
EU-Western Balkans process that includes all EU members and sends
the signal that the Western Balkans will be in the EU soon and are
consulted on EU matters. This would allow the Commission to take a
more central role, bring in more consistency and follow up, while
adding an instrument that can tackle issues the EU is
institutionally less well equipped to face, such as bilateral issues
and improving relations among the countries of the region and their
neighbors.
|
