Slovenian proposal is a surprise, but who's behind it?

Slovenian proposal is a surprise, but who's behind it?

This is what Slobodan Zecevic from the Institute for European Studies thinks about the new Slovenian proposal, which surprised many.

Just a few days ago, Reuters reported that the remaining Balkan countries can no longer count on the promised membership in the EU, because Brussels can no longer provide such guarantees, the Financial Times published a completely counter-story at the center of the Slovenian initiative.

Slovenia, which currently holds the presidency of the European Union, presented a proposal at a meeting of ambassadors in Brussels on October 1, according to which the EU should expand to the entire Western Balkans by the end of the decade. This, of course, came as a surprise to members ahead of an EU-Western Balkans summit on October 6th, at which a declaration on enlargement should be adopted.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who visited Western Balkans these days, reiterating her support for the countries to join the Union, practically hinted that this exact phrase should be expected in the declaration and nothing more. Politicians in the region have also been skeptical about this topic for a long time, because many EU members do not show a desire for enlargement.

Where did such a Slovenian proposal come from just a few days before the summit?

Zecevic reminds that Slovenia has previously stated the thesis that all the countries of the Western Balkans should join the EU together, but also notes that he himself, like many, is skeptical about that idea for many reasons.

The countries of the Western Balkans are not at the same level of integration. He reminds that there's a huge gap between Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, between Serbia and North Macedonia and Albania, noting that Bosnia-Herzegovina and North Macedonia have not even opened negotiations. There is also the issue of Kosovo, when a number of EU members still do not recognize it as a state. That is why he notes that at this moment, there is no realistic consensus within the EU to accept all those countries in the package.

"I think that this is an attempt to throw out an initiative that would say that in the foreseeable future, that is, that in a relatively short time all the countries of the Western Balkans should be admitted to the EU. I do not know who is behind Slovenia. "It's an American idea, an American initiative, because Americans are already getting nervous about the current situation and the EU's indecision regarding accession, which creates instability in this area," Zecevic said.

When asked whether pressure on the EU is possible on that issue, his answer is unequivocal.

"The only pressure that is possible is from the United States. I think their pressure was decisive in case of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007. Who knows what would have happened if there was no strategic need for the United States to get involved in Western political, economic and military integrations. Therefore, it is very possible, and the current situation suggests that the United States is very much bothered by the destabilization of the Balkans in itself because of these different national interests of the Western Balkan countries. On the other hand, they are also bothered by the foreign influence that is appearing in the Western Balkans", Zecevic points out.

United States would not want to lose the Western Balkans due to the indecision and incompetence of the EU, and with its integration into the EU, it would be much easier to secure its influence and interest here. It is a completely different situation, as he says, when you are a member of an integrated system, instead of the current situation.