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Today's agreement by the EU-27 to reaffirm the accession perspective for the countries of the Western Balkans is to be welcomed because it has three important core messages: First, there is no accession at a discount. Each candidate for accession must meet the accession criteria for itself. Secondly, the EU itself must become receptive. It's not today, just think of the number of EU commissioners or the unanimity rule in foreign and security policy. Third, the EU is finally taking on the task of responding to the massive influence exerted by Russia, China, Turkey and other states on this open flank of the European Union. The longer the EU keeps the Western Balkans in the dark about its prospects, the easier it is for opponents of a united and strong EU, such as Russia and China, to use the Western Balkans as a tool against the EU.
It is correct that the EU has not given a fixed accession date, because accession must never become automatic, but must bring concrete added value to the EU. Realistically, there will be no EU enlargement in the next 10 years. However, intermediate steps such as the participation of Western Balkan countries in the EU internal market or intensified cooperation in the fight against organized crime are all the more important.
The prospect of accession is neither an end in itself nor a panacea, but it is the central lever for the political, economic and social stabilization of the states of the Western Balkans, which already form an island completely surrounded by the EU. The long-term stabilization and gradual integration of this region into the EU is therefore in the best interest of the EU as a whole. However, this can only succeed if the EU itself reforms its own structures and decision-making processes. Keywords such as downsizing the EU Commission, adjusting the voting weights in the Council and the allocation of seats in the EP indicate how complex this challenge will be. For this reason, too, the EU should use the current future conference to prepare the ground for a future EU constitutional convention, which should set the decisive course for the EU of the future.
