“The European Union makes a concession to Serbia: our greatest success is not even mentioned”

The draft of the declaration, which will be on the agenda of the next EU-Western Bakan virtual summit on May 6, unlike the previous ones, does not mention the invitation to the partners for a “complete alignment” of foreign policy with EU positions, but only a call to “move towards full alignment”, which, according to the Zagreb Jutarnji List newspaper, is a concession to Serbia.

The Zagreb newspaper, which had an idea of ​​the draft declaration, notes that “it is an obvious concession to Serbia”, which, with BiH, does not endorse the EU’s positions on foreign policy, especially as the newspaper, in regards to relations with Russia. China, but also some other countries.

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The document does not mention states, but only partners in the region, which is a compromise due to the participation of Kosovo, which Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and five other EU member states do not recognize as a state. Morning writes that the statement does not mention “enlargement”, “membership” or “EU integration” anywhere in the text.

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This is in line with the announcement that the EU-provided country assistance package will be at the forefront. However, a vague phrase is mentioned about a “European perspective” and stronger integration.

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According to Jutarnji, it can be said that this “Zagreb Declaration” will be offered even less in content than the one offered by the summit 20 years ago. The reason for this, according to the Jutarnji List of Diplomatic Sources, is the insistence of some countries such as France and the Netherlands, and to some extent Germany, not to be an enlargement summit.

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The text does not even mention the greatest success in the process during the Croatian presidency: the decision to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. The text of the draft declaration shows that the coronary virus crisis had an impact on current and future relations with the region.

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Furthermore, it could even help strengthen the regional cooperation that the EU is constantly seeking (the well-known Schengen mini-project being developed by Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia), as well as strengthening ties with the EU.

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In the draft document, the EU reaffirms its unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans. It is also stated in the text that the EU has made it difficult to criticize that it is not helping the region and that others are helping more.

In the EU, Morning said, they feel that the help of others (China, Russia) is appreciated and given more importance.

– The fact that this support and cooperation goes far beyond what any other partner has provided to the region deserves public recognition – reads the Draft Declaration.

The statements below mention more or less similar messages that the EU has been sending for years, Jutarnji concludes.