The EU needs a bolder Balkan strategy

In Short:

This article, written by former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt for the Centre for European Reform, argues that "the best thing the EU could do to promote Balkan stability would be to offer an indicative timetable to each state that shows an appetite for reform and a willingness to engage with the Union."

The Balkans are returning to the top of the EU's agenda. UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari has begun to negotiate Kosovo's future, while Montenegrins will probably vote in April on whether to break with Serbia. Both processes could destabilise a region that is suffering an economic crisis. Unemployment is about 30 per cent in Serbia and Montenegro, 40 per cent in Macedonia and 50 per cent in Kosovo.

The European Commission quite rightly wants to give the entire region a clear perspective of membership, as an incentive for the various governments to carry out painful reforms. The demise of the EU's constitutional treaty has turned some member-states away from the idea of further enlargement. Nevertheless, last year the EU began accession talks with Croatia, declared Macedonia a candidate, and started negotiating 'stabilisation agreements' with Serbia and Bosnia.

To read the article in full, visit the Centre for European Reform (CER) website.