Obstacles to the integration of the Balkans into the EU: Von der Leyen points the finger at Russia

Disagreements, conflicts and divisions in the region are being encouraged by Moscow to prevent the integration of the Western Balkan countries into the European Union (EU). With this statement issued in Tirana on Wednesday, the President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, issued a warning to the candidate countries to be more vigilant and not fall into Russia’s trap when it comes to the European integration process in the region.

The head of the European executive, Von der Leyen chose Tirana as the first stop of the Balkan trip, attending the opening ceremony of the academic year of the College of Europe campus. In her speech to the students, she said very clearly: “Wherever there is progress towards reconciliation or regional integration, it is these forces that bring old conflicts to light.” She recalled that Russia launched its aggression against Ukraine the moment Ukraine decided to join the EU as a strategic goal. In her opinion, Russia had already tried to do the same in Moldova weeks ago by interfering in the referendum there if it wanted a European future.

However, her speech ended with the optimism that the “winds of change” blowing in the Balkans are stronger than the destructive and conflict-generating winds.

“Just like after 1989, European history is on the move. Back then, we felt that the unification of our continent was inevitable because it was one of those unstoppable forces of history that my generation called ‘the winds of change’. Can anyone stop this wind of change? “Today, this wind of change is blowing here, but not only in the Western Balkans, but also in Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia and across our entire continent,” said von der Leyen.

After Tirana, von der Leyen arrived in Skopje today to meet the country’s heads of state. This was the most direct way to unblock the accession negotiation process without overcoming the differences with Bulgaria. The head of the European Commission announced that Skopje would not be able to move forward in the process without the implementation of the French proposal, which provides for constitutional amendments to include ethnic Bulgarians in the constitution.

The same messages of overcoming disputes with neighbors through the implementation of agreements are expected to be delivered in Pristina and Belgrade.

The stalemate in the region’s EU integration process has increased Euroscepticism among the citizens of the six candidate countries in the region. This is one of the objectives of Russian propaganda, which has long been present in the region. Therefore, the EC leader’s visit to the capitals of these countries is aimed at restoring the belief that European integration is possible, vibrant and useful for the problematic region. After Brussels approved the reform plans of the region’s governments, von der Leyen also focused on the promotion of the EU Plan for Growth and Reform in the Balkans, under which 6 billion euros will be allocated to these countries.

Ursula von der Leyen emphasized that in her second term at the helm of the EC, the integration of the Balkans into the Union will be a top priority, a process that is increasingly becoming a geopolitical emergency for Brussels, especially after the Russian aggression in Ukraine / The Geopost/