Plenkovic: Zagreb Summit itself is a powerful message

Photo /Vijesti/2020/05 svibanj/6 svibnja/EU2020HR.jpg

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has said in an interview with Politico that he wishes a virtual EU-Western Balkans summit in Zagreb could send a stronger signal of support to the region but that the meeting itself conveys a powerful message.

Wednesday's gathering was originally due to take place in Zagreb as the highlight of Croatia's presidency of the Council of the EU but restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus crisis mean the meeting of EU leaders and their counterparts from six Western Balkan states will now take place by video-conference, says the media service.

Some Western Balkan commentators have expressed disappointment that the statement to be adopted at the conference, called the Zagreb Declaration, does not mention EU enlargement, as they had hoped for a clear message that the bloc wants to accept all the countries of the region as members one day.

"From a personal point of view, I would have been happier if we had been more robust and clear, all of us, in the statement," Plenkovic told Politico in a telephone interview.

"But I'm realistic, we made a very solid document given the circumstances. The fact that the meeting is happening is already a strong political signal," he added.

EU officials insist that enlargement is not off the table and point to the fact that the bloc in March gave North Macedonia and Albania the green light to begin membership talks.

Plenkovic said that decision "will be the political legacy of Croatian presidency to our neighbors."

Two other countries taking part in the conference, Serbia and Montenegro, have been in EU membership talks for years but are not yet close to joining, Politico says, adding that the final two participants in the meeting, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, are widely considered to be far from even being invited to start membership negotiations.

The slow pace of progress toward membership for the Western Balkan six has prompted some in the region to conclude that many EU countries do not want further enlargement, even if they don't say so openly.

The summit draft text says that the EU "reaffirms its unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans" without explicitly mentioning membership of the bloc. But Plenkovic insisted "enlargement is back in town."

He said a summit in Zagreb this year would have provided a neat symmetry - as EU and Balkan leaders gathered there 20 years ago to herald a new era of closer cooperation after the curtain came down on a decade of war and upheaval in the region.

Although the leaders are not gathering in Zagreb this time, Plenkovic said Croatia's presidency had put the region back on the agenda - an assertion that may be disputed by Bulgaria, which hosted its own EU-Western Balkans summit in May 2018, says Politico.

"If we can maintain the focus with this high level political dialogue every two years, we as the presidency can safely say that we have achieved our objectives. This is key," Plenkovic said.

Text: Hina



News