Bulgaria External Relations Briefing: the European Integration of the Western Balkans

ISSN: 2560-1601

Vol. 27, No. 4 (BG)

March 2020

Bulgaria external relations briefing: The European Integration of the Western Balkans: A Long-Standing Foreign Policy Priority of the Bulgarian Government Evgeniy Kandilarov

1052 Budapest Petőfi Sándor utca 11.

+36 1 5858 690 Kiadó: Kína-KKE Intézet Nonprofit Kft. office@china-cee.eu Szerkesztésért felelős személy: Chen Xin

Kiadásért felelős személy: Huang Ping china-cee.eu 2017/01

The European Integration of the Western Balkans: A Long-Standing Foreign Policy Priority of the Bulgarian Government

One of the important and long-standing foreign policy priorities of Bulgaria, clearly and categorically stated by the Bulgarian Government in various international formats and during various international fora, is the support for the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union. This was one of the main highlights of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2018. A consistent step towards strengthening the Bulgarian position on this issue was the decision on this year chairmanship of the so-called Berlin Process for the Western Balkans which was decided to be held for the first time as a joint presidency of two countries – Bulgaria and North Macedonia, an EU member and a candidate country. The unusual decision was taken at a summit in the Polish city of Poznań of the EU leaders and their colleagues from the Western Balkans on 3-5 July 2019. That time EU leaders confirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation with the region in key areas such as digital, transport and energy, economy, security and good neighbourly relations. The Berlin process was set up in 2014 at the initiative of Germany to intensify efforts for the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU. The decision of joint presidency is the result of Sofia and Skopje's efforts to resolve the Balkan disputes. For the first time, a candidate country is also at the head of the initiative, and this happens in a year when Skopje and Tirana are hoping to get a start date for EU membership talks. The culmination of the joint presidency has to be the July summit in Sofia. At the beginning of this year Bulgarian foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva welcomed the fact that the enlargement of the European Union constitutes one of the priorities of the Croatian Presidency of the EU Council. At the end of January 2020 Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov during his speech at the Diplomatic Dialogue on the Western Balkans panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos once again stressed that Bulgaria consistently supports the efforts of the Western Balkan countries on their path to EU membership. Borisov emphasized the extreme importance of maintaining the EU enlargement policy as a catalyst for the implementation of key reforms in the region. "These reforms are needed both for the modernization and development of the Western Balkans and for the stability and prosperity of this strategically important EU region," Bulgarian Prime Minister noted. Regarding the priorities of the joint presidency of the Berlin Process Bulgarian Prime minister pointed out the connectivity in all its aspects: transport,

1 energy, digital, as well as connectivity between people, especially among young people, including through education. He specified that one of the major projects to be implemented is to progress in the construction of the trans-European Corridor № 8. It is of a crucial importance for the region and would set a good example for the connectivity between the Western Balkans and their neighboring EU Member States. At March 10 North Macedonia and Bulgaria begin the Berlin Process joint presidency on a summit meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Western Balkans in Skopie. The meeting was co-hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Nikola Dimitrov and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Ekaterina Zaharieva, with welcoming remarks delivered by the President of the Government of the Republic of Northern Macedonia, Oliver Spasovski. At the meeting, which was dedicated to the European perspectives of the region in the context of the March European Council and the forthcoming Summit in Zagreb in May, the Ministers of the region supported the renewed political attention of the EU to the region. Additionally, they adopted a joint statement which reiterates the region’s pledges for commitment to democratic values, rule of law, independence of the judiciary, building of stable institutions, the fight against organized crime and corruption, stable economic governance, as a basis for political and economic stability of the region and its essential connection to the rest of the European continent. At the same time, it demonstrated a common political vision for the process, agreeing that the Berlin Process and other relevant regional initiatives do not replace the EU enlargement process. The meeting reaffirmed the strategic interest of the countries of the region to become a full-fledged EU Member States, building a peaceful, stable and prosperous region in a strong and united Europe. In her address, Bulgarian Foreign Minister pointed out that the first joint presidency is a symbol of the regional ownership of the Berlin Process. She stated also that “Bulgaria will continue to support the efforts of the Western Balkan countries on their journey to the EU but these, in fact, have to be a joint efforts” and in this regard the joint presidency of the Berlin Process is a good example of development and an achievement of the Balkans. This was the first of a series of important events within the framework of the joint presidency of the Process held by Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia in 2020. The joint presidency focuses on the following priorities: expansion of the existing spheres of cooperation in the Western Balkans region, improvement of connectivity along all of its dimensions: transport, energy, digital connectivity; interpersonal connectivity, bringing young people closer together through education, conservation of the environment. The six Western Balkans countries taking part (the Republic of North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina) welcomed the joint

Presidency of the Berlin Process of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia as a model applied for the first time ever within the framework of the initiative and offering clear prospects for strengthening regional cooperation. Bulgarian Foreign minister urged the six countries of the Western Balkans that wish to join the EU to focus on the future rather than the past and to invest more effort in matters of common interest. According to her the contribution of and the advantage offered by the Berlin Process to the Western Balkans are in its policies that encourage good-neighborly relations. Bulgarian Foreign Minister highlighted that “Through education and connectivity, mainly among young people, more focus should be laid on the future rather than on looking to the past”. In conclusion Zaharieva expressed hope that in March the European Council would decide to open negotiations with the Republic of Northern Macedonia and Albania because this would be important both for the security of the region and for the confidence of the region’s people in the European institutions. Several weeks later, on March 24, the European Council gave the green light to opening the accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania. The meeting was held in the form of a video conference because of the virus outbreak and the EU foreign ministers endorsed the proposal unanimously in a written procedure. The decision sets out the conditions that the two countries must meet before the convening of so-called “intergovernmental conferences”, with which negotiations can formally begin. Emphasis is also placed on the new methodology for conducting the negotiation process. No date was set for the start of the membership negotiations, which can take several years. Albania and North Macedonia were meant to begin accession talks last year, but French President Emmanuel Macron blocked the move and said he would continue to do so until the process for allowing countries into the 27-nation bloc had been reformed. Macron did so despite warnings that further delays to the countries' membership efforts could undermine stability in the volatile Balkans. North Macedonia’s leader reacted by stepping down and calling early parliamentary elections. The European Commission later revised the accession process for North Macedonia and Albania to respond to Macron’s objections and other questions raised by the Netherlands. Bulgaria welcomes the decision on March 24 by European Union foreign ministers to give the green light for starting the EU accession negotiation process with the Republic of North Macedonia and Albania. Bulgarian foreign minister pointed out in a message on Twitter that “Bulgaria has always been a strong supporter of the EU perspective of both countries”. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the decision was “great news” for the Western Balkans and the EU.

In line with the Framework Decision on "EU Enlargement and the Stabilization and Association Process: Republic of Northern Macedonia and Albania", adopted by the Council of Ministers on 9 October 2019, Bulgaria included in the conclusions a text that emphasized the importance of achieving tangible results and in good faith implementation of the Treaty of Friendship, Neighborhood and Cooperation between Bulgaria and North Macedonia, as part of the accession process. Also, in implementation of the Framework Position, a requirement was made to make tangible progress in defending the rights of the Bulgarian national minority in Albania before the next important step in the negotiation process - the holding of the first Intergovernmental Conference. The Prime Minister reiterated Bulgaria's position that our support for Northern Macedonia's EU membership will only come definitively once the historical disputes are fully resolved. In conclusion we can say that Giving EU green light to start accession talks with Northern Macedonia and Albania can be seen as a success for Bulgarian diplomacy and foreign policy, since the European integration of the Western Balkans is a long-standing foreign policy priority of the Bulgarian government. It is convinced that Bulgaria could not be a prosperous country if its neighboring countries were not. Proof for such a conclusion is the fact that among the steps Bulgaria has taken to step up the process are the: The “Treaty of Friendship, Neighborhood and Cooperation” between Bulgaria and the Republic of Northern Macedonia; the EU-Western Balkans Summit during the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council, which adopted the Sofia Declaration and the Sofia Agenda with concrete steps for cohesion in the region; the decision of the General Affairs Council on June 26, 2018 chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva to give green light to talks with Albania and North Macedonia; joint celebrations of historic events in Sofia and Skopje, and finally the joint presidency of Bulgaria and the Republic of Northern Macedonia in the Berlin Process. The last has been seen as a natural continuation of what has been achieved during the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and of bringing to the fore the process of European integration of the Western Balkans on the political agenda of the Union.