Athens, 18 November 2009
Agenda 2014: A fresh roadmap for Balkan accession to the EU
On 9 October 2009, just 3 days after being sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Greece, George Papandreou addressed the Foreign Ministers of Southeast Europe. His message was twofold and clear: that the imminent enactment of the Lisbon Treaty will alleviate Europe’s enlargement fatigue, and that fresh momentum needs to be imparted to the European perspective of the Western Balkans.
The accession of all the countries in our region to the European Union is a political, geographical and historical imperative. The EU – the greatest peace project in human history – was launched in response to the devastation of the 20th century’s two World Wars, the first of which received its fatal spark on a June morning in 1914, in Sarajevo. And so the target date that Mr. Papandreou has proposed for our welcoming the Western Balkans into the European family is 2014 – 100 years after the beginning of World War I, which is arguably among the roots of many of our neighborhood’s persistent problems.
A number of factors – from enlargement fatigue and a more general identity crisis in the EU to unresolved issues here in our region, as well as the recent global economic crisis – have conspired over the past six years to weaken an earlier agenda: the “Thessaloniki Agenda”, which was launched during Greece’s EU Presidency in 2003, with George Papandreou again at the helm of Greek foreign policy.
Thus, a new European roadmap for the Western Balkans is in order. This roadmap – “Agenda 2014” – will reinvigorate the region’s European perspective. And Greece will be the motor force behind this endeavor, ensuring that our partners in the EU step up to this responsibility – this European imperative – and guiding our neighbors on their path to European integration.
The target date of 2014 is undeniably ambitious, and yet feasible. It is certainly a symbolic and political target.
It is ambitious because the European Union – and here we must be very clear – will not lower the bar of its criteria and prerequisites. Western Balkan countries will have to implement the necessary reforms and meet all relevant obligations before they are welcomed into the EU. Responsible, EU-oriented leaderships will have to make real progress in a number of areas, including respect for human rights, democracy, rule of law, freedom of the media and accountability. There is still much work to be done.
But it is feasible because much has already been accomplished. Regional cooperation is already a reality, with a number of healthy political and economic fora already in place and active. It is feasible because with clear political will and vision, outstanding issues will be resolved so that the prospective Member States can meet the pivotal criterion of good relations with all of their neighbours.
And “Agenda 2014” is feasible for the very simply reason that our time has come. The peoples of the Western Balkans are ready for and deserve a future of security, cooperation and prosperity; a future in which the principles and values of the European Union are their principles and values.
The future of the Western Balkans lies in Europe. Along this path, Greece will be a steadfast friend and tireless supporter. The peoples of the Western Balkans need only choose to share our vision and work with unflagging resolve to realize “Agenda 2014”.