Western Balkan six remains stuck in the membership waiting room at to the European Union, because the negotiations have slowed to a crawl, hampered by enlargement fatigue in European capitals, fears of immigration and fears that the new members would paralyze the bloc's already cumbersome decision-making process, Euroaktiv writes.
What the EU needs is a differentiated approach to enlargement, which rewards genuine progress, punishes corruption and obstruction and recognizes integration as a political choice, not a bureaucratic ritual, it said. The current process traps the region in uncertainty. The "chapter" system with its dense legal criteria gives the impression of progress, but in practice it has turned accession into a farce of participation.
The leaders of the Western Balkans are closing chapters, attending summits and issuing communiques, but the horizon of full membership is steadily receding.
Mass departure of young people
Meanwhile, the cost of that delay is growing, as young people leave in droves, draining the region of talent and shrinking its middle class. Judicial reforms and the fight against corruption lose momentum when ruling elites realize that membership will not materialize in their careers, effectively locking in existing power structures.
All the while, public trust in democratic institutions is faltering, fueling populist narratives that the EU has no intention of ever opening its doors, according to Euroactiv. Brussels presents enlargement as proof of Europe's transformative power, but its failure to deliver on it undermines that very promise.
The EU cannot credibly preach democracy and the rule of law while tolerating stagnation in its neighborhood. Every broken promise and every delayed action diminishes the Union's influence, signaling to potential members that reforms may not be rewarded, and to rival powers that European commitments can be safely ignored.
With accession as a moving target, Serbia has deepened energy ties with Russia and is buying Chinese surveillance systems, Milorad Dodik in Bosnia is openly courting Moscow, blocking reforms and flirting with secession, and Montenegro has seen Beijing's Belt and Road loans increase financial dependence, creating leverage for China within a NATO member. Each year of delay gives Russia and China new opportunities to gain a foothold in the Western Balkans.
Left unchecked, the region risks becoming a playground for malicious actors taking advantage of the unclear enlargement process and an administration in Washington that is increasingly at odds with Brussels over Russia.
The responsibility for this sorry state of affairs lies outside the Western Balkans. The chapter system creates the illusion of an apolitical process, but leaders on both sides know that accession is fundamentally political. The EU cannot continue to allow these narrow interests to dictate the pace of enlargement. Treating the EU as inferior partners – essentially as pawns on the European chessboard – only emboldens anti-EU populists. In Serbia, the most advanced of the Western Baltic six economies, support for accession reached its lowest level of only 33 percent.
Differences between countries that aspire to join the EU
The Russian war prompted leaders to speed up accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, and the gesture carried weight, but also raised expectations in Tirana, Podgorica and Skopje. The bitter truth is that the country under partial occupation will not join the Union anytime soon, which is why Brussels must prioritize the candidates standing in the queue.
The EU's growth plan for 2023 promises six billion euros in grants and loans related to reforms, so Montenegro is now aiming for entry in 2028, and Albania in 2030, but those deadlines remain elastic, prone to postponement and often hostage to bilateral disputes. Unless Brussels sets real deadlines and implements them, enlargement will continue to look like a moving target and the Western Balkans six will eventually leave. Avoiding that fate requires three steps.
First, distinguish between the candidates: Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro, which by some margin have made the most progress, deserve clearer timelines and benefits, while the countries lagging behind should face real consequences due to corruption. Second, to confront those who spoil the situation by sanctioning leaders like Milorad Dodik and Bosnian Croat leader Dragan Čović, who are actively working against European interests, and third, to regain political responsibility, because enlargement is not a technocratic exercise of defining borders, but a decision on the security of Europe.
The Western Balkans will not wait forever.
Delay strengthens illiberal actors, deepens malign influence and undermines faith in Europe. Accelerated, differentiated and politically responsible enlargement is not a gift to imperfect democracies, but the most effective tool Europe has to shape its trajectory and protect its own future.
The longer Brussels hesitates, the more space it leaves for Moscow, Beijing and Trump, and it will be more difficult to keep the region on the European path, according to Euroactiv.
Source: Euroaktiv
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