Taking into account the geopolitical situation and issues, the focus of the GLOBSEC Forum 2023 was on issues related to Ukraine and the Western Balkan region. This year’s conference gathered more than 1000 participants from over 60 countries. Among the participants of the forum were presidents and prime ministers from the countries of the Western Balkans, while the former president of Montenegro participated from Montenegro. He discussed the European path of the Western Balkan countries.
Taking into account the events on the international stage and relations, and especially in terms of security, the importance of the forum is multifaceted. Since 2005 when the forum was established, it has grown into one of the most important platforms in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In addition to security issues, the forum is an excellent opportunity to discuss other important segments of society and the economy, such as “enhancing public-private cooperation on the interconnected issues of energy, innovation, infrastructure, and health.
The focus of the discussion at the conference was on issues of stability and security of the entire CEE region, and therefore also of other parts of the world. The war in Ukraine stimulated the discussion about security and the adoption of new strategies to reduce the security risks that resulted from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. This also increases the risk of stability in the countries of the Western Balkans, taking into account Russia’s influence in this area, so one of the topics of the GLOBSEC Forum 2023 was the Western Balkans. Therefore, three main topics that were the subject of discussion are (i) Continuing Support for Ukraine, (ii) Resilience of Europe in the Face of War and (iii) Mitigating the Global Consequences of the Conflict (economic, energy, value chains).
New Integration Plan of the Western Balkan countries
In addition to the issue of the war in Ukraine and the security related to it, an important issue that was discussed at the conference was the situation in the Western Balkan countries and the maintenance of stability in this region. Due to the existence of traditionally strong relations with Russia and the influence of Russia in this region, the presence and orientation of the EU during the previous year was greater. In order to maintain safety and security in Europe, the integration of the Western Balkans counters to the EU has never been more of a priority.
In order to speed up the integration process, the EU has prepared a new plan for all the countries of this region, which was presented at this year’s GLOBSEC conference. Previously, in 2020, the EU adopted a new Methodology for the accession of countries to the EU, which particularly affected Montenegro and other neighboring countries. New criteria and a new methodology for the accession of countries to the EU have been set, which assumes that the negotiation chapters will be grouped into clusters, thus expecting a more efficient fulfillment of the criteria. Although all chapters were open to Montenegro at that time, it continued the EU accession process according to the new methodology. However, the pandemic during 2020, then the change of government and the period of political instability in Montenegro, which were followed by a poor assessment of progress, i.e. of the integration process, by the European Commission, significantly slowed down the process of accession of Montenegro to the EU. During the previous years, no significant steps were taken in this direction, even on the contrary, some decisions of Montenegro were contrary to EU recommendations. All of this had the effect of delaying this process, so that Montenegro lost the momentum it had until 2020. The war in Ukraine influenced the EU to take a more proactive approach to the implementation of the enlargement policy. As a result of such an approach, a new Plan was adopted which is aimed at the countries of the Western Balkans
The starting point of this Plan is the new geopolitical situation and the exposure of the Western Balkan region to the Russian influence. Therefore, a new step was taken, the EU not only opened the door for new members, but also to become more involved in their joining. The approximation of the Western Balkan countries to the EU was carried out through a series of activities during the previous year, which consist of financial support to vulnerable households in order to overcome the energy crisis, building infrastructure in order to reduce energy dependence on Russia, etc. The new plan consists of 4 measures consisting of the following: (i) bringing the region closer to the EU single market; (ii) deepening regional economic integration, (iii) accelerating fundamental reforms and (iv) boosting pre-accession funds. Access to the single market would enable the rapid economic growth of Montenegro and other Western Balkan countries, as for example access to the single digital market in areas such as e-commerce or cyber security. Strengthening of regional cooperation, greater economic connectivity would contribute to greater convergence of these countries to the EU. Additionally, regional cooperation would contribute to the progress of all countries. The creation of a stable region, which has the trust of investors and is attractive to foreign investors, would contribute to the growth of the economy of the entire region. In that case, the key reforms are those that need to be implemented beforehand in order to create a prosperous region. Also, among the four key measures is an increase in pre-accession financing, which is of key importance for the progress of the entire region.
This new Plan represents an important message to Montenegro that the EU is ready to proactively implement the enlargement policy. It is not only possible that every country can become a member, but the Plan can indicate the EU’s interest in including countries, which was not the case to a large extent during the previous years. It is obvious that in the new conditions, with the danger of expanding Russian influence in the Western Balkans, the previous model of expansion is not applicable to a large extent, and a new Plan was proposed that would give better results.
However, in order to achieve these goals, greater commitment from both sides is needed, that is, the readiness of Montenegro and other neighboring countries to implement the reform process, as well as the EU countries to engage in this process. Depending on the composition of the new Government of Montenegro that will be established in the coming period, the speed and quality of the reform process also depends. The experience during the previous three years shows that the new governments did not achieve the desired results. Now, however, greater engagement and focus on the fulfillment of these goals is necessary, because concrete results are needed.
In order to speed up the integration process, the EU has prepared a new plan for all the countries of this region, which was presented at this year’s GLOBSEC conference. Previously, in 2020, the EU adopted a new Methodology for the accession of countries to the EU, which particularly affected Montenegro and other neighboring countries. New criteria and a new methodology for the accession of countries to the EU have been set, which assumes that the negotiation chapters will be grouped into clusters, thus expecting a more efficient fulfillment of the criteria. Although all chapters were open to Montenegro at that time, it continued the EU accession process according to the new methodology. However, the pandemic during 2020, then the change of government and the period of political instability in Montenegro, which were followed by a poor assessment of progress, i.e. of the integration process, by the European Commission, significantly slowed down the process of accession of Montenegro to the EU. During the previous years, no significant steps were taken in this direction, even on the contrary, some decisions of Montenegro were contrary to EU recommendations. All of this had the effect of delaying this process, so that Montenegro lost the momentum it had until 2020. The war in Ukraine influenced the EU to take a more proactive approach to the implementation of the enlargement policy. As a result of such an approach, a new Plan was adopted which is aimed at the countries of the Western Balkans.
The starting point of this Plan is the new geopolitical situation and the exposure of the Western Balkan region to the Russian influence. Therefore, a new step was taken, the EU not only opened the door for new members, but also to become more involved in their joining. The approximation of the Western Balkan countries to the EU was carried out through a series of activities during the previous year, which consist of financial support to vulnerable households in order to overcome the energy crisis, building infrastructure in order to reduce energy dependence on Russia, etc. The new plan consists of 4 measures consisting of the following: (i) bringing the region closer to the EU single market; (ii) deepening regional economic integration, (iii) accelerating fundamental reforms and (iv) boosting pre-accession funds[3]. Access to the single market would enable the rapid economic growth of Montenegro and other Western Balkan countries, as for example access to the single digital market in areas such as e-commerce or cyber security. Strengthening of regional cooperation, greater economic connectivity would contribute to greater convergence of these countries to the EU. Additionally, regional cooperation would contribute to the progress of all countries. The creation of a stable region, which has the trust of investors and is attractive to foreign investors, would contribute to the growth of the economy of the entire region. In that case, the key reforms are those that need to be implemented beforehand in order to create a prosperous region. Also, among the four key measures is an increase in pre-accession financing, which is of key importance for the progress of the entire region.
This new Plan represents an important message to Montenegro that the EU is ready to proactively implement the enlargement policy. It is not only possible that every country can become a member, but the Plan can indicate the EU’s interest in including countries, which was not the case to a large extent during the previous years. It is obvious that in the new conditions, with the danger of expanding Russian influence in the Western Balkans, the previous model of expansion is not applicable to a large extent, and a new Plan was proposed that would give better results.
However, in order to achieve these goals, greater commitment from both sides is needed, that is, the readiness of Montenegro and other neighboring countries to implement the reform process, as well as the EU countries to engage in this process. Depending on the composition of the new Government of Montenegro that will be established in the coming period, the speed and quality of the reform process also depends. The experience during the previous three years shows that the new governments did not achieve the desired results. Now, however, greater engagement and focus on the fulfillment of these goals is necessary, because concrete results are needed.
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