The European Commission announced this week a plan for the growth of the Western Balkans of six billion euros, the aim of which is to bring the countries of the region closer to the economic average of the EU.
Analysts and experts in Brussels warn that the plan is a step in the right direction, but insufficient to meet the real needs of the region, reports RTS.
What's the plan?
The European Commission's plan proposes the integration of the countries of the Western Balkans into seven sectors of the EU single market, non-refundable financial aid of two billion euros and favorable loans of four billion in the period from 2024 to 2027.
Gradual integration into the single market envisages the free movement of goods, services and workers, a single payment zone, road traffic, energy market, a single digital market and the integration of industrial supply chains.
The plan also proposes the completion of a common regional market in the Balkans based on EU rules and standards, which could potentially bring 10 percent growth to their economies.
Positive signal, otherwise insufficient
Steven Blokmans, from the Center for European Political Studies, believes that the plan is a positive signal of the EU's willingness to speed up some integration processes, but that it is insufficient in financial terms.
"The budget framework of six billion that the European Commission predicted is insufficient to reduce the economic gap between the EU and the Western Balkans, which the commission itself notes has actually widened in recent years." If you take into account the economic progress of EU member states, which receive ten times more from EU structural funds than the Western Balkans, as well as the economic impact of the crisis and recession - it is clear that the offer of six billion euros will certainly help, but in the larger picture it is just a drop in the ocean," Blokmans believes.
Corina Stratulat from the Center for European Policy in Brussels says that the European Commission has not met expectations to present a road map for phased integration and an innovative approach to enlargement policy.
"The presented plan is more 'business as usual' and does not answer the claims about the extraordinary times we live in." We are not sure if the money will really be able to flow to the Balkans, because the conditions are very strict and those are the ones that they have not been able to cope with until now. If part of the aid is loans that need to be repaid later, it can be temporary aid, but the question is how effective it will be," says Stratulat.
For Steven Blokmans from CEPS, the responsibility for the lack of ambition in the plans for the Western Balkans is not only on the European Commission. He believes that Ukraine and Moldova have done much more for their European path than the countries of the Western Balkans.
"It was not realistic to expect that due to the geopolitical situation, the commission would now insist less on the rule of law, values and compliance with foreign policy." If a geopolitical approach is sought, then the countries of the Western Balkans should align themselves with the positions of the EU, instead of flirting with Russia. It is a very strong signal that has been sent and which countries should take seriously," he says.
The problem with the plan of the European Commission according to Blokmans is that it did not offer any idea how to reform the process, which due to the principle of unanimity has countless possibilities of blocking.
BG/RTS
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