Resumen de The EU and the Western Balkans: Do They Share a Future?
The rationale for denying EU accession differs for each country, but the underlying reservations are identical: yet “not prepared”; “too early” to accept a new country; or the “cost” of admitting a new member outweighs any benefits that might derive from its accession.
Europe is going through an incremental and not too subtle revival of historical prejudices and condescension of northern and western European states and peoples towards their southern and eastern neighbors.
Rather than being encouraged to establish an authentic domestic demand to adopt and achieve the substance of the EU’s membership standards, Balkan politicians are motivated to go through the motions of adhering to the mechanical criteria of the accession process.
There is little motivation for aspiring states to engage in meaningful and enduring reform, where progress towards mutually agreed-upon accession benchmarks would be recognized and rewarded by Brussels.
The EU has to behave as though both the present and the future of the Western Balkans actually matter.
