Why does the path of the Western Balkans to the European Union take so long?
The countries of the Western Balkans have wanted to become members of the European Union ever since the beginning of this century. At the summit in Thessaloniki in 2003, the EU promised them a European future. Since then, only Croatia has become a member, back in 2013. The other countries of the region are still waiting, some of them for more than two decades.
The road to membership consists of several steps. First, a country submits an application, and later it can obtain candidate status. Then negotiations begin, in which the country must align its laws with EU law. This law is divided into 35 chapters, from the judiciary to the environment. Each chapter must be opened and closed, and for every step the consent of all member states is needed. This means that a single country can block the whole process.
Montenegro began negotiations in 2012 and is considered the most advanced candidate. Serbia has been negotiating since 2014, but progress is slow, among other things because of its relations with Kosovo. Albania and North Macedonia officially opened negotiations in 2022.
For North Macedonia, the road was especially difficult. The country received candidate status already in 2005, but Greece blocked the negotiations for a long time because of the name dispute. The dispute was resolved with the Prespa Agreement in 2018, after which the state changed its name. Then Bulgaria made new demands, among other things for the inclusion of Bulgarians in the Constitution. The demand for a constitutional change led to fierce political debates in the country.
The candidates must carry out deep reforms, especially in the judiciary and in the fight against corruption. Brussels also expects free media, independent courts and a functioning market economy.
Why does the process take so long then? Experts cite several reasons, such as slow reforms and weak support for enlargement in some member states. Moreover, many in the EU believe that the Union must first reform its own rules. That is why nobody can say with certainty when the next country from the Western Balkans will become a member.