EU-Western Balkans Summit - New Brussels leadership, old expectations

The EU-Western Balkans Summit, taking place tomorrow in Brussels, will be the first chaired by the new President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, but expectations ahead of the meeting on both sides remain the same. The European Union is expected to reaffirm its commitment to the Western Balkans' EU membership and will remind the countries in the region that they need to implement reforms, while the countries from this part of Europe, as before, expect that the conditions set for them to cross the EU threshold should finally be concluded.
Written by: Dusica Radeka Djordjevic
According to announcements by Antonio Costa, the summit will address the implementation of the Growth Plan, possibilities for further enhancing gradual integration between the European Union and the region, and common geopolitical challenges.
Ahead of the summit, good news arrived today in Belgrade and Tirana from Brussels. The EU Council of Ministers signed a letter inviting Serbia to submit its negotiating positions for Chapters 16 and 19 within Cluster 3, concerning competitiveness and inclusive growth, while at the EU-Albania Intergovernmental Conference, this country opened Cluster 6 on foreign policy.
At the end of tomorrow's summit, a declaration is expected to be adopted, and according to a draft of this document, which some media have seen, it states that the strategic partnership between the European Union and the Western Balkans is more important than ever, considering the radical change in the geopolitical situation, Russian aggression in Ukraine, and the conflict in the Middle East.
Countries in the region will be called to progress towards full alignment with the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy and to implement bilateral agreements in good faith and with tangible results. In this line, there will also be a "reminder" for Belgrade and Pristina, which is expected to be found in the declaration - that agreements reached within the dialogue must be implemented, especially the Agreement on the Path to Normalization and the Annex on Implementation from last year.
According to Stefan Vladisavljev, Program Coordinator at the BFPE Foundation for a Responsible Society, it would be beneficial for the Western Balkans if clear dates were provided at tomorrow's summit for when individual countries or all countries in the region could become EU members.
Given that all six actors from the Western Balkans will attend the summit, Vladisavljev says that singling out any individual would not send a good political message, as they are not all in the same status.
"Not all countries have candidate status, some have only recently received it, others are more advanced in the process. It would be good to receive clear dates for when individual countries or all could become new members, whether that is in 2026, 2028, or 2030. It is extremely important that, within the summit, the context of the future enlargement process is framed in terms of the Western Balkans without favoring any particular side so that the momentum within the countries is maintained at a high level," Vladisavljev stated for Kosovo online.
The main messages expected from the summit, he mentions, are the continuation of the EU's commitment to the enlargement policy, while from the Western Balkans, it is expected that they will show readiness to actively enter the reform process and take the necessary steps to make progress in the EU accession process.
"Bilateral relations between the EU and candidate countries, as well as potential processes facilitated by the EU, will not necessarily be the focus of this summit, as it primarily communicates broader strategic messages. Certainly, through the messages sent to all countries, commitment to processes necessary for the region to approach the EU is expected, including certain bilateral matters such as the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina at this time," says Vladisavljev.
He adds that the summit might potentially lead to a new framework in terms of a potential new envoy for the Western Balkans or new information about how the dialogue will proceed in the future.
"The point is that the dialogue is a process in itself; it can be mentioned in a broader context, but nothing will be resolved during the summit," Vladisavljev concludes.
Dritan Hoti, a lecturer at the Mediterranean University in Tirana, however, believes that tomorrow's summit will be a crucial moment for "restoring normality in the dialogue" between Belgrade and Pristina.
"This meeting is considered a key moment for restoring the normality that existed two or three years ago in the dialogue, all based on the Agreement and the Ohrid Annex from last February. The EU will seek transparency, for example, in the case of Banjska and sabotage in the north of Kosovo, regarding drinking water supply. From Kosovo, coordination of its actions with KFOR is expected. That is what the European Union can do as one of the 'poles' of the great powers or as one of the 'actors' in the world where the USA acts as a superpower and as a special 'pole'," Hoti noted for Kosovo online.
Regarding Kosovo's Euro-integration, Hoti believes that its case is "different from the procedures for joining the European Union" and that Kosovo lags in this process.
"It is a country that has only existed since 2008, and there are several EU countries that still do not recognize it," says Hoti.
Speaking about the economic development of the region, which will also be a topic at the summit within discussions on the Growth Plan, Hoti points out that economic development undoubtedly creates a kind of psychological stability, but it is not always certain that it can overcome ideological positions.
"There was economic development before World War I, but it failed to stop the geopolitical crisis caused by various geopolitical positions and national interests of traditional European powers. The same applies to the countries of the Western Balkans, for Serbia, and for what is called the 'Albanian world', with its basic thesis that national interests come first. Membership in the EU places these countries in a different institutional environment, gives a different pace of social and economic development, but it is not certain that this can provide a final solution to the national and historical differences among the peoples. The duty of the European Union is to coordinate its actions in the region with the actions of the USA, so that there is a common binding pressure. This strengthening of pressure would yield more results," Hoti says.
For North Macedonian analyst Sinisa Pekevski, the EU-Western Balkans Summit will be "déjà vu."
"I expect the same messages they have been sending to the Western Balkans all the time, that they want us to be part of the EU, but first we must fulfill a bunch of conditions that are nowhere written down and based on which certain peoples are placed in a subordinate position. Again, the pressure will be on Belgrade because we see that through a hybrid manner through Serbian politics they are trying to force the Government and the President of Serbia to make certain concessions and that a tragedy is being misused for the purpose of overthrowing the government. But, now I also expect a bit more pressure on Pristina because it does not meet the conditions and creates circumstances for provoking some kind of conflict with Serbia," Pekevski stated for Kosovo online.
Regarding whether Belgrade and Pristina will be specifically told at the summit what is expected of them in the dialogue process, Pekevski says there may be recommendations, but it should be kept in mind that real power is in the hands of the United States.
"The administration is already changing, and we are at a stage where we do not know what to expect. I expect that there will be more serious activities in January, during which much greater pressure will be on Pristina from the Trump administration," our interlocutor states.
Professor of International Relations at the University of Pristina, Afrim Hoti, has no doubt that the EU will call on Belgrade and Pristina at the summit to engage in dialogue and to implement the Ohrid Agreement reached last year, and that the pressure will be on both sides.
"From a legal perspective, that agreement exists, which is why I expect that the summit will pressure both sides to start implementing it as soon as possible," Hoti declared for Kosovo online.
He points out that for the Western Balkans region, EU integration is the only option, and all countries from this part of Europe are doing their best to meet the criteria to gain EU membership.
"The war between Ukraine and Russia is a clear signal, for both the EU and the region, that the integration process needs to be accelerated. In this regard, I expect Europe to press the parties to meet the criteria as soon as possible to pave the way and reach the final destination," emphasizes Hoti.
comments