ANALYSIS FOREIGN POLICIES IN WESTERN BALKANS GLOBAL AND REGIONAL ORDERS Allignment with the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy The (foreign) political alignment with EU positions FOREIGN POLICIES in international affairs is not The (foreign) political alignment The EU CFSP alignment process also only an obligation entailed by with EU positions in international points to the EU's transformative the EU accession process, but affairs is not only an obligation and structural foreign policy power it essentially tests the political entailed by the EU accession in this area, wherefore a higher IN WESTERN and practical commitment of process, but it essentially tests the level of foreign policy alignment of the Western Balkan countries political and practical commitment the WB6 with the EU CFSP must to deal with the wider of the Western Balkan countries to become one of the key priorities international context. deal with the wider international for the EU itself. BALKANS context. Allignment with the EU Common Foreign and Security When it comes to EU CFSP compliance, the percentage When it comes to EU CFSP Policy of Western Balkan countries' compliance, the percentage compliance with the High of Western Balkan countries' Representative's declarations compliance with the High and EU Council decisions Representative's declarations and varies, and comparative EU Council decisions varies, and analysis shows that the level comparative analysis shows that Nedzma Dzananovic of compliance does not quite the level of compliance does not April 2020. match the status of states in quite match the status of states in the EU accession process. the EU accession process. Further information related to this topic, please find at: www.fes.ba FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG - FOREIGN POLICIES IN WESTERN BALKANS FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG - IMPRINT ABOUT THE AUTOR IMPRINT Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) | Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina Nedžma Džananović is an Associate Professor at the Kupreška 20, 71 000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Faculty of Political Science, University of Sarajevo. She is a Responsible: Dr. Peter Hurrelbrink former diplomat and serving in the BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the BiH Presidency and as an adviser to the Chair Tel.: +387 33 722 010 of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Fax: +387 33 613 505 E-mail: [email protected] foreign policy. She is the author of three books and a num- www.fes.ba ber of scientific and professional texts, mainly in the field of foreign policy analysis and Euro-Union integrations, but Original title: Vanjske politike na Zapadnom Balkanu GLOBAL AND REGIONAL ORDERS also in more conventional political fields such as populism. Translation: Gordana Lonco i Dragana Čeprkić DTP: Filip Andronik ................................................................................... 2 PREFACE Print: Amos Graf, Sarajevo Printing: 100 copies 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................... 2 CIP - Katalogizacija u publikaciji Nacionalna i univerzitetska biblioteka Bosne i Hercegovine, Sarajevo FO2. REANAIGNLYSIS ............................................................... POLICIES 4 2.1 Um Sodales auge............................................................................ 4 IN2.2. WsdfsdfESTER .............................................................................................N 2 BALKANsdd wee ...............................................................................................S 4 Allignment with the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy Nedzma Dzananovic April 2020. The publication can be delivered upon request via e-mail: [email protected]. In cooperation with: Attitudes, opinions and conclusions expressed in this publication do not necessarily express attitudes of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. The Friedrich- Ebert-Stiftung does not vouch for the accuracy of the data stated in this publication. Commercial use of all media published by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) is not permitted without the written consent of the FES. CONTENTS Contents 1 THE CONTEXT AND AIM OF THE ANALYSIS ............ 2 2 ALBANIJA ................................................................................. 4 3 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA .......................................... 6 4 MONTENEGRO ...................................................................... 8 5 KOSOVO* ................................................................................ 9 6 NORTH MACEDONIA ........................................................ 11 7 SERBIA ..................................................................................... 13 8 CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................... 15 Why is the alignment of WB6 foreign policies with the EU CFSP important? .................................................................................. 15 Are WB6 foreign policies aligned with the EU CFSP? ..................... 15 What does misalignment with the EU CFSP indicate? .................... 15 How has European Union integration influenced the transformation of foreign policy in the region? .................................................... 16 1 FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG - FOREIGN POLICIES IN WESTERN BALKANS 1 THE CONTEXT AND AIM OF THE ANALYSIS As a foreign policy and security actor, the European Union chapters from their SAAs4. Albania and North Macedonia has been unsuccessful in preventing the outbreak of the have only been given the green light from the EU member- war in the former Yugoslavia, failing also to make a sig- states to begin membership talks to join the EU in late nificant contribution to end the war in spite of involve- March 2020. The talks, however, would not start soon due ment from some of its member states, such as the United to coronavirus pandemic.5 Bosnia and Herzegovina6 and Kingdom and France. A second chance presented itself in Kosovo*7 are yet to be awarded the status of potential the late 1990s when the EU institutionalized its approach candidates. to the region through a policy and legal tool called the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP). The name of Membership criteria include fulfillment of political, eco- the tool itself clearly indicates that it has a twofold goal nomic and legal criteria for membership, the so-called Co- – first stabilization (primary) and then association. This penhagen Criteria, an integral part of which is the adop- approach combines Europeanization and conditionality, tion and implementation of the EU acquis. A part of the which have already been successfully applied in the as- political criteria concerns the gradual alignment of the for- sociation process of the countries of Central and Eastern eign policy of candidate countries with EU foreign policy, Europe, while upgrading them by recognizing the specific which is also one of the EU negotiation chapters and an needs of the Western Balkans1. The threefold transition area where progress is assessed in annual progress reports process that Central and Eastern Europe had undergone made by the European Commission. Both those countries has also been complemented by a fourth component – that are membership candidates but have not yet started post-conflict reconstruction and long-term stabilization. negotiations, and those that are potential candidate coun- At the historic 2000 Zagreb Summit, the EU formalized tries, have an obligation of approximation of their foreign this twofold principle by announcing the fact that the policies with the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy EU stabilization and association processes in the Western (CFSP) under the Stabilization and Association Agreements Balkans would take place simultaneously. The text of the signed by each of them with the EU. Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) includes many elements “borrowed” from earlier European agree- All six Western Balkans countries (WB6) have very clearly ments2, with trade relations, as expected, being given the made EU membership one of their foreign policy priorities, most detailed treatment. Nonetheless, Title II, Political Dia- and therefore the alignment and approximation obligation log, defines approximation of policies with EU policies as a general goal, which includes and stresses approximation of 4 At the Intergovernmental Conference held in Brussels on 10 December the country’s foreign policy with the EU Common Foreign 2019, Serbia opened its 18th chapter out of a total of 35 negotiation chapters. At the same time, Montenegro opened its penultimate chap- and Security Policy (CFSP). ter, i.e. the 32nd chapter out of a total of 33 chapters. 5 At the European Council meeting held on 17 and 18 October 2019, Today, four of the six Western Balkans countries3 – Al- French President Emmanuel Macron refused to give the green light to bania, Montenegro, Serbia, and North Macedonia – have the start of EU negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. While he did not dispute the progress made, Macron justified his decision candidate status. Montenegro and Serbia are already in an by the need to review the enlargement policy, which did not produce advanced phase of negotiations with the EU on different satisfactory results in general. The Netherlands and Denmark also had reservations in giving approval to open negotiations with Albania. 6 At its meeting held on 10 December 2019, the Council of the Eu- ropean Union adopted conclusions on the Commission’s Opinion on 1 The first EU-Western Balkans framework, the 1997 Regional Approach, BiH’s