European Forum

PES welcomes Spanish EU Presidency ‘Sarajevo conference’ on targeted EU future for Western Balkans

The Party of European Socialists (PES) on 2 June welcomed the successful conclusion of the Spanish EU Presidency’s Sarajevo Conference. The 2 June conference, to renew EU commitment to EU membership for Western Balkan countries, brought together Foreign Ministers from the EU and the region as well as representatives from the U.S., Turkey, Russia, NATO, the OSCE and the Venice Commission.

The European Union was well represented by EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele and by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, both members of the PES family.

PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen stated that; “the positive conference conclusion is an extremely important signal ten years after the Zagreb summit of 25 November 2000 and its commitment to EU membership for countries in the region”. He emphasised that; “the year 2010 must mark a new beginning for this process of integration. It is true that “enlargement fatigue”, provoked by the economic crisis, is eroding enthusiasm. Balkan people should not pay the price for neo-liberal mistakes. Countries from the region need to implement all necessary reforms, so that a common vision can allow actors to work towards EU membership of the Western Balkans. For the PES, this vision for a new Europe is Enlargement 2014 as reiterated by PES Leaders at Balkans Conference Declaration in Sarajevo in March 2010”. Mr. Rasmussen was referring to the PES declaration to aim for EU membership for Western Balkan countries by 2014 .

Conditions to be met
Meanwhile, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said the EU and the Western Balkans had agreed on "a new deal – a deal of the future, a future of hope, a future of peace, a future of full integration in the EU." Moratinos said the EU would continue to work to advance accession processes with the countries of the region, while the international community committed to accompany the "full inclusive process of reconciliation" in the region. The Spanish Foreign Minister said western Balkan countries, in turn, had pledged to enforce political and economic reforms and strengthen regional cooperation in order to meet conditions for joining the EU. "The international community, the European Union, have committed and have delivered their part," he said. "Now it's our friends from Bosnia, from the western Balkans, that have to do also their part."

The EU's conditions for membership include strengthening of the rule of law, fighting against corruption and organised crime, and guaranteeing media freedom. EU Enlargement Commissioner, Fuele, called the Western Balkans a "top priority" for the external policy of the 27-member bloc and said the Sarajevo conference was about “new momentum and enlargement.”

Ahead of the Sarajevo Summit, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told local media that his country expected the EU to send a “clear signal” that the European integration “must not be stopped."

Background
The EU Enlargement strategy has suffered from the lack of cohesion, focus and clear commitment. Enlargement fatigue could in turn threaten the popular consensus for EU integration in the region and may result in disillusionment and at worst political extremism. In recent years, the region has made significant advancement towards EU accession showing the pro-European mindset of the countries in the Western Balkans.

The PES, as the most committed European political family to European integration for the Balkans, strongly endorses the Enlargement 2014 vision. The year 2014 should be a milestone on the roadmap towards EU accession, a symbolic target date giving new momentum and impetus on the centennial of the outbreak of the First World War to a fully united Europe

Social democracy has been a force for peace and tolerance in the region. The PES is proud to see many of its leaders from the region and from the EU turning this political event into an historical moment for the Balkans and its people.

Brussels has supported the European ambitions of the former Yugoslav republics in order to ensure stability in the region, which is still recovering from the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia in the wars of the 1990s. And the EU has pushed for reconciliation, insisting that all potential members must have good relations with their neighbours.

Sources: PES; RFE/RL