Easing path to EU membership the way to avoid war in Balkans

KOSOVO'S declaration of independence has put stability in the Western Balkans back on Europe's agenda. Unless the European Union acts quickly, the whole region could slide backwards, with dire social, economic and security consequences. The EU needs a comprehensive regional approach, focusing on the remaining steps that would lead each country towards membership.

The Western Balkans comprises Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo, with a combined population of roughly 22 million. Economic developments are promising, with almost all its economies posting high growth, fuelled by increasing industrial output and exports. Inward investment is steadily rising, as business seems to believe that the remaining political and security challenges – the possible negative effects of post- independence Kosovo and Bosnia's malaise – will be overcome sooner rather than later.

Much work has already been done to re-establish and improve regional relations.

The recently revived Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) is meant to be the main regional engine for trade and business. Similarly, the South-East European Cooperation Process is one of the new regional organisations that contribute to countries' preparations for EU membership.

But these bodies must not be seen as substitutes for the far more comprehensive accession process, which only the EU itself can initiate. And yet, despite the region's favourable prospects and relatively small size, the Union has been slow in doing so.

The EU has failed to prepare the Western Balkans for accession, in line with its leaders' promise at their Thessaloniki summit in 2003.

That promise was not a matter of charity; the Balkans would add value to the EU. Let us hope that the new Reform Treaty will help to reassure the critics and pave the way for a new – and more robust – phase of integration.

If not, one would have to ask what had happened to the European spirit of the 1970's and 1980's, when countries such as Greece, Portugal, and Spain, which had just emerged from dictatorship and civil unrest, were welcomed into the European community of democratic states.

What about today? The most recent EU members, Bulgaria and Romania, are both in the Balkans and both are examples of countries with special needs.

The EU must learn from this experience to develop an accession strategy for the Western Balkans, whose development has been delayed by a complex post-conflict transition process. Their special needs should be taken into account in any new EU approach, giving them hope while mitigating the fallout from Kosovo. It is in Europe's interest as much as it is in the interest of the region to accelerate the integration process. A reinvigorated accession process would contribute to the EU's consolidation, territorially and politically, while strengthening its role in its wider neighbourhood.