The EU’s special envoy for the dialogue between Kosova and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said on Thursday in Brussels that there is progress in the implementation of some agreements reached in the dialogue between the two parties. He said this during the debate on the enlargement developed by the “Friends of Europe” organization.

Lajcak emphasized that the European future of the Western Balkans region cannot even be dreamed of without the normalization of relations between Kosova and Serbia.

“The normalization of relations between Kosova and Serbia is a matter of strategic importance. Without this normalization we cannot even dream of the European future. We have recently made progress in this direction. We will soon close the energy file, there is progress in the issue of license plates, in the issue of missing persons, in the issue of local elections in the north and in the implementation of the agreement regarding the normalization of relations,” stated Lajcak, adding that he is in constant contact with the parties to continue with the implementation.

He called not to lose time to implement the obligations from the dialogue and not to lose the opportunity for advancement in the journey towards the EU. Lajcak emphasized that next year will be a year with a busy political calendar, because there will be elections in the European Union and in the US.

According to Lajcak, now is a new moment in the enlargement process, which is much more favorable than before. This new moment, he said, was created by the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and his aggression against Ukraine.”However, the EU emissary said that “geopolitics has opened the door for integration in the EU, but it will not pass through this door by itself, because for such a thing the conditions must be met”.

“For the first time, I see the EU more ready for the Balkans than the Balkans for the EU,” said Lajcak, repeating that the countries of the region should resolve all open issues between them, so that one day not to be able to block each other on the road to the EU.

A debate dedicated to the enlargement process organized by “Friends of Europe” is taking place in Brussels.

In this debate, the European Union told the countries of the Western Balkans that there is no more time to wait for them to normalize the relations between them, but this must be done quickly, as a condition to use the means from the plan for economic growth approved on November 8 from the European Commission.

The plan for economic growth for the countries of the Western Balkans foresees a large package of financial assistance of 6 billion Euros for the period from 2024 to 2027. According to the plan, from this amount, up to 2 billion Euros would go as non-refundable assistance, while 4 billion in the form of favorable loans or capital investments. A part of these financial means could go through direct payments to the budgets of the countries of the region to be used for these purposes.

The US ambassador in Belgrade, Christopher Hill, the General Director for Enlargement at the European Commission, Jan Coopman, and many other participants also participate in the debate.

Coopman said that the goal of the EU is to integrate the countries of the region as much as possible even before they become EU members, including integration into the internal market of the European Union.

Ministers from several countries of the region also participated in the meeting. They supported the idea of ​​gradual integration before formal integration into the EU, but not to see it as an alternative to membership.

“To realize this, the region must overcome the open problems. We cannot accept countries that have poisoned reports,” Coopman said, citing open border issues.

These conditions, according to diplomats in the EU, are primarily related to Kosova and Serbia, which are included in the dialogue process facilitated by the EU.

“We will condition the growth plan with the normalization of relations. There should be progress in this [aspect]. We don’t have time to wait anymore”, stated Coopman. He said that the value of the funds from this plan is great and if the states do not use them, the citizens will lose.

The Minister for European Affairs of the Czech Republic, Martin Dvorak, recalled that there will be no opportunity for any candidate country to avoid fulfilling the criteria in the process of advancing towards the EU.

What is the plan for economic growth in the Western Balkans?

The new plan for economic growth in the countries of the Western Balkans, approved by the European Commission on November 8 of this year, is based on four pillars.

The first pillar is “strengthening economic integration in the EU single market”. This will depend on the adaptation of the countries of the region to the rules of the single market and, in parallel, the opening of their market in the relevant sectors for the neighboring countries.

The second pillar of this plan is “strengthening economic integration within the Western Balkans through the common regional market”. This, according to the experience of the EU, will affect a potential economic growth of 10 percent.

The third pillar of this plan is “acceleration of fundamental reforms”. This also means the rule of law, which also helps attract foreign direct investment and strengthens regional stability.

The fourth pillar of the European Commission’s new plan for economic growth in the Western Balkans is “increasing financial assistance to support reforms”. This includes the proposal for 6 billion Euros in aid.

Since the countries of the region in their trade relations with the European Union also benefit from the relevant Stabilization-Association Agreements, the EC proposes to go beyond this, making changes to these agreements to enable equal conditions in the market and between the countries in the enlargement process and the EU member countries.

All these goals are in line with the ideas that are being implemented through the Berlin Process, and the creation of the regional common market.

/a.p./