TIRANA – “The European Union reaffirms its unequivocal support for the Western Balkans’ European perspective. The Western Balkan partners reiterated their commitment to the European perspective as their firm strategic choice,” said the Zagreb Declaration released after the EU-Western Balkans summit which took place via video conference on 6 May 2020.
The virtual summit, organized by the EU Presidency of Croatia and chaired by European Council President Charles Michel, was held on Wednesday as scheduled with the participation of 27 EU member states and the highest state and government leaders of the 6 WB countries.
“Recalling the 2000 Zagreb, the 2003 Thessaloniki and the 2018 Sofia Summits, the EU once again reaffirms its unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans. The Western Balkans partners reiterated their commitment to the European perspective as their firm strategic choice,” said the Declaration circulated by the Council of Europe on Wednesday.
Skopje’s FM Expects Negotiating Accession Framework by June
It is obvious something which was warned a day before that the text of the Declaration fell short of having any specific reference about enlargement, and no mention was made of the decision to open the EU accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia taken in mid March this year. Some countries, by the way, are rather skeptical of further enlargement, such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, France and, to a certain extent, Germany, HINA said on Wednesday.
Commenting on the Declaration before being adopted Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister of Croatia, which is holding its first Presidency of the Council of the European Union, said: “We made a very solid document given the circumstances. The fact that the meeting is happening is already a strong political signal.”
During the press conference after the Summit, Croatian PM Plenković highlighted the successes of his country’s Presidency. “We have managed, thanks to our joint efforts, to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. In our view, these decisions were long overdue. We have also managed to adopt new methodology which will not only help Serbia and Montenegro, which are already negotiating, but also North Macedonia and Albania”, Plenković said.
Earlier Foreign Minister Goran Grlić Radman stated for N1 that this Summit is the legacy of Croatian Council Presidency. According to him, the proposed Declaration could have been more strongly phrased, but it reflects the realistic state of affairs and that it is a great success of Croatian Presidency.
In the meantime Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Nikola Dimitrov, in an interview for N1, thanked Croatia for the progress his country has made during its Presidency, adding that it would be better to have the word “enlargement” in the Declaration, though he prefers the phrase “completion”. He also said that North Macedonia expects the negotiating framework to be drafted by the Commission by the beginning of June.
Dimitrov has recently said as quoted by Reuters that the Balkans “can’t go backwards” on their EU ambitions. “The people in the region have nothing to fear,” Dimitrov said. “The whole process is to help become prosperous, functioning democracies.”
EU to Stand by WB to Face Coronavirus Crisis
Top issue in the Declaration is coronavirus crisis expressing the pledge of the EU to stand by its Western Balkans partners and remains committed to actively support their efforts to combat the coronavirus outbreak and its impacts on societies and economies.
The EU has mobilized very swiftly a package of over EUR 3.3 billion to the benefit of the Western Balkans, as outlined in the Commission Communication of 29 April on Support to the Western Balkans in tackling COVID-19 and the post-pandemic recovery.
“The fact that this support and cooperation goes far beyond what any other partner has provided to the region deserves public acknowledgement,” said the Declaration implying clearly that the amount outweighs medical supplies Beijing and Moscow sent to Serbia and Bosnia in the early phase of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Declaration said that the EU reiterated its calls on all partners to progress towards full alignment with EU foreign policy positions, notably on issues where major common interests are at stake, and to act accordingly.
China and Russia flew doctors and medical supplies to Bosnia and Serbia in March to help halt spreading of the coronavirus at a time when the EU’s initial response was slow.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who at the time publicly thanked President Xi Jinping and the Chinese people, said on Wednesday in a statement that he was grateful for EU help.
Asked by reporters after the summit if Balkan leaders should show more praise for the European Union, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said: “Their objective is the European Union and this summit is helping them to go in the right direction.”
“The EU also recognizes the valuable support the Western Balkans has given during the pandemic to their immediate neighbours and towards the EU,” said the Declaration.
Albania has sent two teams of medical staff to support Italy in its combat of the pandemic which has been highly praised by Italian highest officials.
Kosovo Asks EU to Deliver on Visa liberalization and Candidate Status
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen during the press conference after the Summit said, “Once we put behind us this immediate phase of the pandemic, EU will present the investment plan later this year – it will focus on necessary transport and energy infrastructure, but also Green new deal and digitalization.” She added that free press, which is the cornerstone of the democracy, is of particular importance when it comes to EU values.
Meanwhile EU fully supports the Western Balkans partners’ pledge to inclusive regional cooperation and strengthening good neighbourly relations, including with EU Member States.
With regard to reconciliation and regional stability it is welcomed the recent appointment of the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue.
“We have reaffirmed and reconfirmed the position of the European perspective for the Western Balkans. It is important to continue the reforms, the rule of law, the democratic values, the fight against corruption – they are essential,” said the President of the European Council Charles Michel during the press conference following the leaders meeting.
In the context of Wednesday’s Summit, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council Majlinda Bregu announced the launch of the new vision of the Regional Economic Area, which will entail deepened economic integration, connectivity, digital innovations and intraregional trade.
In the meantime it is reported that the President of the European Council Charles Michel talked with the Presidents of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi, Serbia Aleksandar Vučić and Montenegro Milo Đukanović in the context of Wednesday’s Summit.
According to President Thaçi’s tweet, he emphasized that EU member states must take the overdue decision on visa liberalization. President Thaci in his address through videoconference at the Zagreb Summit asked the EU to liberalize visas for Kosovo. “Just finished my remarks at the Zagreb Summit. Reiterated the urgent need for the EU to deliver on visa liberalization and candidate status for Kosovo, as the only way to rebuild trust and confidence in the EU integration process,” Thaci wrote on Twitter as quoted by Gazeta Express.
Five EU countries do not recognise Kosovo’s independence, including Spain. At the summit, all leaders appeared against neutral backgrounds to avoid insignia that one EU official said “would make the video conference difficult” as lingering diplomatic tensions mean nationalist symbols could cause offence.
“This Zagreb summit sends a strong message – EU 27 are committed to the region,” was the message conveyed by the European Council President Charles Michel as Zagreb Summit ended its proceedings which have widely been praised thanks to the dedication and hard work of Croatian government.
It is worth to close with a quote from an interview of Croatian PM Plenković with POLITICO in a telephone interview on Tuesday during which he revealed that he had taken part in the summit of Zagreb in 2000 as a diplomat and had hoped back then to have a “roadmap from Zagreb to Zagreb.” Although the leaders are not gathering in Zagreb this time, Plenković said Croatia’s presidency had put the region back on the agenda. “If we can maintain the focus with this high level political dialogue every two years, we as the presidency can safely say that we have achieved our objectives. This is key,” Plenković said./argumentum.al
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