Our World in 2017

ISSUE#1193 | January 2017
QUO VADIS EUROPA?
NEW EUROPE: OUR WORLD IN 2017
Page-21
www.neweurope.eu
Why enlargement still matters
by Knut Fleckenstein
Member of the European Parliament from
Germany and Vice-Chair of the Group of
the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and
BELGIUM Democrats. -BRUSSELS
Half of EU citizens support EU enlargement.
Thirteen years ago, around the time of the
much referred to European Council in
Thessaloniki, there was still a clear majority
in favour of new members joining the Union.
What has happened since? And why does it
not mean we should stop EU enlargement, but
instead focus on a more ambitious and more
political enlargement policy?
Since the 1990’s the perception of EU
enlargement has changed. At the time,
enlargement to the East was advocated as a
political duty to the countries that had been cut
off from their Western European neighbours
by the Iron Curtain. Today, the perspective
of further accessions is often portrayed as an
economic and social burden.
But even today, many EU citizens still
support the principle idea of enlargement.
When discussing with people from my
constituency, I feel that they do remain open
to arguments about the political benefits
of EU enlargement policy. However, they
are increasingly sceptical about the EU’s
capacity to cope with the economic and social
challenges of future EU accessions. This is not
a negative development per se. It means we
must put more attention and more resources
into shaping and maintaining an enlargement
policy that effectively addresses these
challenges - both in the EU member states
and in the candidate countries for accession.
At its June 2003 summit in Thessaloniki
the EU Heads of State and Government
promised a ‘European perspective’ to the
countries of the Western Balkans and clearly
stated that “the future of the Balkans is
within the European Union”. However, at
the beginning of the current Commission’s
mandate, President Juncker’s statement
according to which no further enlargement
would take place during the years 2014-2019
caused some unease to the public opinion
in the Western Balkans. Politics, especially
European reform-oriented political forces, and
society in the Western Balkans were alarmed
about the potential effects on the EU’s hitherto
committed enlargement policy.
The EU needs an active enlargement
strategy that keeps the enlargement countries
firmly engaged and promotes and strengthens
the accession process in the Western
Balkans. Without an ambitious and effective
enlargement policy, the EU will not be able to
maintain its influence over the democratisation
and stabilisation process.
In the past, the necessity of an “ambitious”
enlargement policy has often meant that the
accession process became more and more
technically sophisticated. Accession criteria
became more detailed, the number of
dialogue fora increased and more intermediary
steps on the way to opening or closing
accession negotiations were determined.
Sometimes it seems that the more detailed
the accession criteria became, the more the
Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy & Enlargement Johannes Hahn (L) and Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo Isa Mustafa (R)
addressing media following their meeting in Pristina, Kosovo, 11 November 2016.
EPA/VALDRIN XHEMAJ
While a successful EU
enlargement policy requires
strict accession criteria and
easily verifiable benchmarks
for progress, it also requires the
European Commission to play
an active role in shaping the
accession process
EU’s commitment towards Western Balkans’
EU accession was put into question in the
countries themselves.
Therefore, today, the EU’s enlargement
policy finds itself caught in a permanent
balancing act between a comprehensive
bureaucratic process and political
considerations. While a successful EU
enlargement policy requires strict accession
criteria and easily verifiable benchmarks
for progress, it also requires the European
Commission to play an active role in shaping
the accession process.
The Western Balkans will need additional
support in order to maintain the reform
momentum over the coming years. It is not
EU accession criteria that help alter a political
culture where political compromises are often
seen as negative, where strong leadership is
favoured by some over broad participation and
where parliamentary boycotts are sometimes a
popular move of opposition parties. Albania is
an example of a candidate country where the
EU has accepted to give substantial support
to bringing about a comprehensive judiciary
reform. Ultimately, however, it is up to the
candidate countries to continue implementing
their ambitious reform packages and not to
lose track of their objective - EU membership.
In the end, the European integration of
the Western Balkan countries will only be
successful if EU accession and the related
political and economic reforms will be
perceived as political, economic and social
progress by the citizens and will thus meet
their support. The fight against corruption and
organised crime require an independent and
effective judiciary as well as well-functioning
mechanisms for regional cooperation. Despite
pressing economic and social challenges
- such as high levels of unemployment
especially among the youth or the necessity
to consolidate public finances - the promotion
of democracy and rule of law and the
strengthening of democratic institutions
must continue likewise, including in the area
of media freedom and transparency.
However, it is not enough to prepare the
Western Balkan countries individually for EU
accession. As future EU Members they will
have to cooperate together on a daily basis
inside and outside the EU institutions. Good
neighbourly relations are the cornerstone of
European integration. The EU’s enlargement
policy as well as the candidate and potential
candidate countries can therefore only benefit
from an even stronger focus on regional
cooperation. The accession process is only
the starting point of a much more complex
process in which the Western Balkans will
contribute to the yet continuing integration
project between 28 and more EU Member
States. European integration should lead to
political, economic and social progress and
should be expressed through the will of those
in government to cooperate in advancing the
EU's political integration project, to share
economic prosperity and solidarity with
neighbouring countries and to speak together
with one voice on the international scene.
These are important tasks for all those
who are committed to European reforms,
EU accession and continuing the European
integration project. The integration of the
Western Balkans into the EU can only be
successful if the necessary reforms in the
candidate countries bring political, economic
and social progress. For the EU, enlargement
policy can only remain a success story if we
manage to address the same concerns of
economic and social progress of today’s EU
citizens. Therefore we need uncompromised
commitment for accession-related reforms in
the candidate countries and for an ambitious
enlargement policy in the EU institutions and
among the EU member states.
We are well aware that all this needs time.
But sometimes all this time and the lengthy
processes can diminish the citizens’ enthusiasm
in the candidate countries. Therefore the EU,
and especially the European Parliament,
should come up with additional measures
to clearly demonstrate to the citizens: We do
want you in the EU and we do already support
you today.