In the framework of the Hungarian V4 Presidency and on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Hungarian-Croatian diplomatic relations, the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) and the Hungarian Embassy in Zagreb jointly organised a conference entitled “The European path of the Western Balkan countries in the changing European security environment” on 13 May 2022 at the Institute Liszt Zagreb.
The event was opened by Csaba Demcsák, Hungary’s Ambassador to Zagreb and Márton Ugrósdy, Director of the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade. In their speeches they highlighted that the Western Balkans is among the foreign policy priorities of all Visegrad countries, which coincides with Croatia’s objectives. The war in Ukraine puts the European Union’s (EU) enlargement policy in a new perspective, which also provides an opportunity to overcome the EU’s credibility deficit in the Western Balkans. Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić-Radman was represented by his advisor Domagoj Knežević, and EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivier Várhelyi sent a video message. Both underlined that enlargement of the Western Balkans is essential, especially in view of Europe’s changing security architecture.
After the welcome speeches, the conference continued with two expert level panel discussions. The first panel, entitled “Perspectives on the Western Balkans through the eyes of V4 and Croatian researchers “, was attended by Western Balkans experts from the V4 countries, Jana Juzová (EUROPEUM), Kristína Bacukálová (University of Economics in Bratislava), Tomasz Żornaczuk (PISM), Ferenc Németh (IFAT) and also included a Croatian panellist, Krševan Antun Dujmović (IRMO). The Visegrad researchers explained why the EU integration of the Western Balkans is a priority for their respective countries, what good practices they can transfer to the region to facilitate this process, and how the V4 as a cooperation can serve as an example for the region. Mr. Dujmović welcomed the Croatian–Hungarian relations and Hungary’s role in the conclusion of Croatia’s accession negotiations, which should be followed by Croatia in order to advance the accession process of the Western Balkans. The panel discussion also reflected on the Russian–Ukrainian war and the possibility of Ukraine’s EU membership. There was unanimity on the issue: meeting the accession criteria is essential for both Ukraine and the Western Balkans, while the enlargement policy, which has been brought to the fore by the war, might get a new impetus from which the Western Balkans can benefit.
In the second panel discussion, entitled “A look at the Western Balkans’ position on enlargement”, researchers Ardian Hackaj (CDI), Naim Rashiti (BPRG), Srđan Majstorović (CEP) and Milan Sitarski (IDPI) presented the views of Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia on the EU’s enlargement policy. Experts from the Western Balkans agreed that the EU integration is key for the development of the countries concerned, but underlined that the protracted accession process is far from being without challenges. It was repeatedly stressed that, in addition to the EU’s enlargement fatigue and lack of visibility, states themselves often slow down the integration by not implementing the reforms in the way and at the pace expected by the EU. The panellists agreed that in order to maintain the european perspective, the EU needs to work on its visibility in the region, as its presence in the area of infrastructure and institutional reforms is less visible to the public, unlike the Chinese projects. The experts also believe it is important that the EU clearly defines, along with the Western Balkan countries, a set of requirements that will serve as conditions for the accession.