Civil Society Representatives from the Western Balkans Call for New Impetus for EU Accession

The June 2010 EU-Balkans High Level Meeting in Sarajevo marked the 10th anniversary of the Zagreb Summit of November 25, 2000, where the EU launched the Stabilization and Association Process and the European perspective for Western Balkans.

Ahead of the meeting, civil society organizations from the Western Balkans submitted a statement where they called for a new impetus for the process of their countries' accession to the EU, and a reinvigorated and clarified policy towards full-fledged EU membership. The statement, signed by over 450 NGOs including the Open Society Foundation for Albania, draws on recommendations made in a European Council on Foreign Relations policy brief by Balkan experts Heather Grabbe, Gerald Knaus, and Daniel Korski.

The statement calls on EU policy makers to revitalize a lagging process by undertaking the following:

1. Emphasize the importance of preserving stability in the region and strengthening the prospects for its further democratic development and economic recovery; Reaffirm the commitment of the EU and countries of the Western Balkans to work together to accelerate the process of accession and condemn any further fragmentation and division along ethnic lines.
2. Encourage the countries of the region to strive for the following goals:
   • candidate status for all the countries by the end of 2011, and
   • opening of accession negotiations with Macedonia by the end of 2010 followed by other front-runners by the beginning of 2012 at the latest.
3. Reiterate that “bilateral issues should be resolved by the parties concerned and should not hold up the accession process” as specified by the Commission’s Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2009-2010. Countries should undertake a binding commitment in that respect before joining the European Union.
4. Give new impetus to the completion of the visa liberalization process for all Western Balkan countries, including Kosovo, and encourage national governments to enable visa-free travel in the region, so as to improve mutual communication and cooperation.
5. Express readiness of both the EU and Western Balkan countries to establish and maintain regular dialogue with civil society organisations involved in the processes of Europeanization of their respective countries and monitoring of the process of accession of the EU.

The statement is available for download.