Social and economic inequality in the countries of the Western Balkans is a problem that has to be addressed, and not just because of their expectations of accession to the EU, but for the sake of their own citizens.

This was the conclusion all participants in a conference on inequality in the countries of the Western Balkans as an obstacle on their way to the EU agreed on. The conference took place in the run-up to yesterday’s EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia. In his address, Sergei Stanishev, President of the Party of European Socialists described 17 May as historical for Bulgaria, which was able to uphold and make consistent efforts to fulfill the top priority of its Presidency of the Council of the EU – the Western Balkans. Stanishev made note of the major changes that have set in in the Balkans since they were put back on the European agenda. The changes in foreign policy are most visible in Macedonia which has been successful in resolving one of its long-standing problems. Thanks to the strong ambition and consistent efforts of the governments of Boyko Borissov and Zoran Zaev, Bulgaria and Macedonia signed a goodneighbourhood agreement, an act that has been put off for over a decade. But Zoran Zaev has even bigger ambitions. He is determined to tackle another smouldering international issue – the dispute with Greece over the name of the former Yugoslav republic. Sergei Stanishev was adamant that resolving the domestic and foreign policy problems existing among the countries of the Balkans is just part of the road they will have to cove to full membership of the EU:

“It should be absolutely clear that unless they attain real economic and social development, unless they overcome the controversies engendered by the standard of living inside their own countries, membership of the EU in itself cannot solve any of the problems. It is no panacea, and this was made abundantly clear by the experience of Bulgaria and Romania. Social expectations had built up in Bulgaria that once the country became a member of the EU on 1 January 2007, all of our problems would be over. They are far from solved, but new opportunities have opened up, which, unless they are utilized by way of targeted policies aimed at raising the standard of living and boosting competition, this would inevitably result in disappointment and euroscepticism. In Bulgaria еuroscepticismis at a low level compared to other European countries. But the problem is not just economic or social, it is political. The truth is that we are living in times of transition when one ideology, one model – that of neoliberalism in everything – is on its way out. It is a model that brought about the huge crisis of 2008, a crisis that started out as financial but turned economic. Due to erroneous policies an enormous social crisis was triggered with severe consequences for all members of the EU, but also for the Western Balkans. That is why this is a model that has reached the end of the line and must be changed fundamentally.”

A survey by Trend research centre shows that a large part of the public in Bulgaria supports the European perspective of the six countries of the region. 61 percent of the respondents say that Bulgaria has an interest in seeing them become part of the European family, 16 percent are against and one quarter do not know. A survey conducted by Gallup among the public in the Western Balkans indicates that Kosovo is the country where expectations of a prospective EU membership run highest. 91 percent of the respondents there say it would be better for them if the country joined the European family. In Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina the percentages are 88 and 78 respectively. In Serbia the picture is different, with 57 percent in favour of EU accession and 43 against – the highest negative percentage in any of the five countries included in the survey.

English version: Milena Daynova