Bernarnd Kouchner, the former UN Ambassador in Kosovo, former Foreign Minister of France and co-founder of Medics Without Borders, wrote for Euobserver that the EU must support Albania.
He reiterated once again the message that 2018 will be a key year for the region. This is why the responsibility of regional governments to make use of the opportunities, now is higher.
“The door to EU enlargement has at last creaked open, three years after European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker slammed it shut by saying there would be no enlargements in his five-year term in office For whatever reason – crises survived, an improved continental economy, Brexit – Juncker now feels the time is right to inspect the queue outside and hand out admission slips. But only two. And of those most eager for accession, these two are not among them”, Kouchner says.
“Accession remains a controversial topic in both Serbia and Montenegro, currently tipped as the top candidates for the next round of enlargement. Their leaders deserve great praise for forging ahead regardless, but the hard truth is that there are other nations, also in the Western Balkans, equally deserving of joining our Union and, crucially, far more enthusiastic about doing so. The rumour in Brussels is that Montenegro and Serbia are the top candidates because they are most apt to switch sides and cozy up to Moscow. Personally, I do not give much credit to this. Apart from oil and missiles, Russia has little to offer. But even were it true, it is not a sufficient reason to approve entry while denying others” ”, the former French Foreign Minister says.
“What is regrettable is that the EU, perhaps inspired by Juncker’s early scepticism, has kept others in the region in the slow lane, including those most enthusiastic about joining. Take Albania: Polls consistently show over 80 percent of its citizens want to join the EU. This shouldn’t in itself qualify the nation for membership. But where there is a strong consensus for accession, history tells us that the institutional and policy reforms required for accession are much easier to implement”, Kouchner adds.
AS for Kosovo, its former UN Ambassador said that “a remarkable 90 percent of Kosovars want to join the EU. Sadly I doubt their wishes will be granted soon, with both Serbia and five current EU members refusing to recognise its legitimacy. But here too the EU needs to be more proactive, encouraging Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Spain as well as Serbia to accept the inevitable and acknowledge Kosovo’s sovereignty”, he declares.
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