Macedonia is a sad story in the Balkans, in terms of European integration, KOS said
If Ukraine is waiting as much as Macedonia is waiting for the start of EU accession talks, then Ukraine would start negotiations in 2045. It is a sad story in the Balkans, along with Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, says European Commission Enlargement Commissioner Martha Kos in an interview with Radio Free Europe (RSE).
She, in an interview with RSE before her visit to Serbia, expressed hope that by the end of her term as EU Commissioner, a position she took in September 2024, Montenegro and Albania could become members of the European Union.
– You know, I come from Slovenia, which was formerly part of this territory in a wider sense. So, in some respects, the region was better 20 years ago than it is today. And there are two or three very sad stories. One of them is that Kosovo cannot move forward. Another sad story is Northern Macedonia. You know, if Ukraine is waiting as much as Northern Macedonia is waiting for the start of negotiations, then Ukraine would begin negotiations in 2045. And, of course, there is Bosnia and Herzegovina – said Kos.
In terms of EU enlargement, Kos says that when she was a candidate for commissioner, she said enlargement today is different than it was five years ago.
-However, today I say that the expansion process is different from the one in January, because so many things have changed, including the new government of the United States (US). Geopolitics changed in the sense that it was a priority before enlargement, but it was not so related to the security and peace section. And again, somehow with today’s expansion, we are returning to the basics of why the EU was founded. It was to ensure peace, freedom, prosperity, and today we could add security. That’s actually what we do in the whole process – said Kos.
Of course, the European Commissioner added, it is still chapters, clusters and benchmarks, but this is much more important in the sense that if we fail in this, I will actually say this, we must not succeed.
She estimates that today it is very important not to fail in the enlargement process, which, he says, is the most successful foreign policy of the EU.
-It was a failure if we did not introduce any new EU member during the current European Commission and I am sure we can do it. We could do that with Montenegro. All chapters are open, so we close them so that we can finish the process at the end of 2026 from a technical point of view. With Albania, we could finish the process from a technical point of view by the end of 2027. Why do I say from a technical point of view? Since it is a negotiation procedure, and candidate countries must implement reforms, but then the member states is to decide whether to become members or not-KOS said in an interview with RSE.
