Curcic: EU administrative reforms will not significantly affect the region

Petar Curcic, a researcher at the Institute of European Studies in Belgrade, believes that possible reforms of the European External Action Service are primarily administrative measures and will not have a significant impact on issues concerning the region and regional integration. He also believes that, regardless of any changes to the structure, the EU's fundamental role in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue would remain the same.

“These are administrative measures proposed by French and German diplomats. I think that, until the French presidential election, it is difficult to expect any fundamental reforms to take place, particularly in this area of implementing foreign and security policy, and that we will have to wait for a government to come to power in Paris that could implement these changes,” Curcic told Kosovo Online.

He noted that Germany would also be dealing with its domestic issues in the coming period, which is why the administrative reforms would not have a major impact on the region.

“I think the region and regional integration primarily depend on the framework that was established when the negotiating framework was changed, when clusters were introduced instead of the former chapters,” Curcic said.

According to him, administrative changes within the mechanisms of the European Union should not, in themselves, affect changes to the political system or the way the EU approaches the region.

Curcic also pointed to the lengthy process that would precede any possible implementation of the reform, since a document would first have to be prepared, after which EU member states would have to discuss it.

“By the time it is proposed, by the time that document is prepared, all the countries then have to discuss it, followed by the French election, the Swedish election, then the Italian and Polish elections – all the things that will happen before a possible reform,” Curcic noted.

He assessed that possible changes of government in EU member states would make it even more difficult to reach agreement on the reform.

“We could have new governments, and then it is very difficult to keep track of whether all the countries will agree, because all countries have to agree for this administrative change to take place, and then all the powers that currently exist, which are by no means insignificant and are numerous, would have to be delegated to the new bodies,” Curcic explained.

Speaking about the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, he said that, regardless of any possible changes to the structure of the European External Action Service, the EU's fundamental role would remain the same.

“I think that is the only administrative aspect, the form that has remained – that the EU is the moderator between Belgrade and Pristina, while it is irrelevant in what format this is done. Perhaps somewhat more importance is attached to it, but that is merely a formal matter,” Curcic concluded.