Five member countries of the European Union have proposed a new approach for the integration of the countries of the Western Balkans in the EU, aiming for the candidates to be gradually included in the common European market even before full membership.
Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia presented a confidential document in Brussels, Euractiv reports, where they demand that the enlargement process become more concrete and more attractive for the aspiring countries.
According to the proposal, the countries of the Western Balkans will be able to participate in certain sectors of the common European market, depending on the level of alignment with EU legislation.
“To sustain the momentum of expansion and advance European integration, strong and attractive incentives are needed,” the document states.
The model called “systematic sectoral integration” envisages that countries such as Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia will gradually gain access to areas such as transport, energy, the digital market and competition policies.
“Merit-based access – if necessary, step by step – to the European common market represents one such incentive,” the countries say in the document.
The five countries argue that this approach would create stronger incentives for reforms and simultaneously increase the geopolitical influence of the European Union in the region, in the face of the influence of Russia and China.
The document emphasizes that gradual integration should be implemented only after the candidate countries demonstrate a high level of compliance with EU standards in the relevant sectors.
“Gradual integration should be actively and systematically pursued after a candidate demonstrates a high level of alignment with the EU acquis in the relevant sector,” the document states.
Likewise, the proposal also includes protection mechanisms, in case a candidate country deviates from democratic or economic reforms after gaining privileges in the European market.
The document also mentions the possibility of the Western Balkan countries being offered similar agreements to the youth mobility program between the EU and the United Kingdom.
