Who, how and on whom does it influence in our country? Foreign factors are not new, but their influence increased after the Russian aggression against Ukraine. There are two fronts. Some are advocating the integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the European Union and NATO, others are making efforts to further destabilize the country and the region. Is Europe a real perspective or just an apparent path?
The expansion of the European Union in the Balkans stopped after the accession of Croatia. This may result in a decline in the Union’s ability to influence processes in BiH and the region. Perhaps the best illustration of this is the absence of a stronger reaction from Europe after the recent events in Kosovo. During that time, according to our interlocutors, Russia’s influence in the Balkans is increasingly visible.
“We are witnessing that we have external interference, above all I am thinking of Serbia and Russia.” What happened in Kosovo is something that could easily happen in another country,” says Zlatko Vujović, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Podgorica.
“We can no longer allow these countries that have a malignant, negative influence on the Western Balkans to continue to do so. Because it will end the way it ended in Ukraine,” warns journalist Una Hajdari.
According to analysts, the war in Ukraine exposed the problems in the European Union itself. At the moment there is no green light for new members either. The reason may lie in the fact that Europe also has problems when it comes to strengthening right-wing parties.
“Their positions reduce the possibility that what the EU needs now – a reform of the decision-making process, a reform that would allow 9 new countries to join – will happen,” says Adi Ćerimagić, an analyst at the Initiative for European Stability.
“Unfortunately, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire region do not have a real European perspective. At least in some biologically relevant sense, this will certainly not happen in the next 15-20 years”, believes political analyst Jasmin Mujanović.
Whether and when our country will become a member of the EU and NATO is difficult to predict. Judging by the official views of Bosnia and Herzegovina. politicians, the course has not changed. But what they do is another story.
On September 21st, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell hosted an informal meeting with Western Balkans leaders on Tuesday in New York, in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). This year, all six presidents from the region attended. These informal meetings take place regularly in the context of the enhanced cooperation with Western Balkans partners on foreign policy. They also offer an opportunity to exchange views about the challenges in the region and its European future.
The discussion centred around the current global geopolitical challenges dominating the agenda at the UN this week, and focussed also on enlargement and ideas around gradual integration of partners into the European Union.
High Representative Borrell and the Western Balkans leaders discussed how to jointly address the damaging consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine on food and energy prices, as well as on the stability and security in Europe and globally. High Representative Borrell highlighted the support that the EU is providing to the countries of the Western Balkans in fully associating the region to its initiatives to mitigate the impact of Russia’s aggression, and in addressing other challenges including energy security, food security and climate change.
High Representative Borrell underlined the importance of close cooperation in multilateral fora. In this context, he recalled that the European Union counts on all candidate countries as reliable partners also in foreign, security and defence policy, including the alignment with EU’s decisions in these domains.
The meeting was also an opportunity to discuss expectations on EU accession at a time when EU enlargement policy has gained a new momentum. The High Representative reiterated the EU’s continued strong support – political, technical and financial – to all candidates and potential candidates to help them advance key political, institutional, social and economic reforms that are necessary to advance on their EU path.
The President of Albania Bajram Begaj, the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Komšić, the President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, the President of Montenegro Jakov Milatović, the President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski and the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić participated in the meeting.
