Bled Strategic Forum was held by the end of August in Slovenia. Participants from various fields with diverse knowledge were gathered in this conference, exchanging views and generating ideas in addressing present and future challenges.

With this end in view, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia Tanja Fajon issued a press release yesterday on “Full Speed Towards 2030”, highlighting that these difficult times will demand courageous leaders, who would be ready to put the enlargement of the Western Balkans at the top of their agenda.

Full text below:

Last week Slovenia hosted the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF), a conference well-known for its traditional discussion about the Western Balkans. Although this year the discussions evidently surpassed the regional attention and had a global outreach, the Western Balkan’s future within the EU stole the spotlight. The idea presented by the President of the European Council Charles Michel that the EU and the Western Balkans should be ready for the enlargement by 2030 echoed loudly. The so-called ‘Bled pledge’ left no one cold-hearted, but left everyone with a question mark whether both sides could actually be ready for the enlargement by that date.

My answer to all these questions is clear: the opportunity is here and we should seize it with full speed. We should work towards finding a sufficient political will in the Western Balkans to reform and the political will in the EU to enlarge. We should focus on the final destination, but we shouldn’t overlook the journey.  

When it comes to the European Union, the EU enlargement is undoubtedly back on the agenda. Geopolitical landscape makes it clear that there is no alternative to the EU enlargement. The war in Ukraine has increased the appetite for enlargement, as well as affirmed the notion that enlargement is a strategic necessity for the EU. In simple terms – it is now or never.

This of course doesn’t mean that the EU enlargement criteria will be dropped and that the Western Balkans could enter the Union without fulfilling them. It means that more political attention will be given to the region, and that the Western Balkans countries will be asked to deliver expediently.

For the EU this means a self-commitment to reform its decision-making process and to prepare itself, in institutional and financial terms. The EU with more than 30 member states behind the table can simply not be efficient as it should be. Such a reform will not be an easy task, but it is a necessary one. And it is of a strategic importance for the EU, at the same level of importance as the enlargement.      

Sceptics would argue that all these tasks appear to be very difficult until 2030. But the realistic point of view is that there won’t be any better offer on the table for the Western Balkans countries and a better opportunity for the Union to improve and adapt to the new global realities.

In Bled, I revealed a formula for the future EU in 2030, called in English “3E by 3E”, encompassing these goals. The EU of 2030 should be more engaged with the World, enlarged with the Western Balkans and our Easters partners, and should have evolved decision-making process to become more efficient. The EU should approach these processes with eagerness, expedience and based on experience. I believe there is nothing much to add.

The years to come will not be about perceptions, nor deceptions. They will be about hard work on both sides, the Western Balkans and the EU, in order to prepare both sides for the EU enlargement by 2030.

These difficult times will demand courageous leaders on both sides. Leaders who will look into the future. Leaders who would be ready to put the enlargement at the top of their agenda, and to take the necessary decisions enabling the enlargement to take place. The European elections will therefore be an important milestone for the goal of 2030.

Regardless of the elections, the Western Balkans can always count on Slovenia. We will remain a firm supporter of the full-speed EU enlargement process. A friend of the region in good and bad. For example, Slovenia already advocates the opening of the EU accession negotiations with BiH by the end of this year.

Time will tell whether President Michel gave a historic speech at Bled. I hope the Bled pledge will materialize also because of our magical Bled. The place where beautiful Alpine mountainous scenery meets the crystal-clear lake water is the best place for miracles to happen.