The Western Balkan countries and their progress towards their EU membership were in the focus of discussions at a conference in Sofia with the participation of diplomats, MPs, scientists and experts from all Balkan countries. The event was held under the auspices of the New Direction Foundation for European Reform and the International Republican Institute. Bulgaria’s MEP Angel Dzhambazki announced during the opening of the conference that the purpose of the forum is to formulate Bulgaria’s clear position and policy with regard to the Balkans:

We begin with Macedonia, which I would never call North, South, Upper or Lower Macedonia. For us it is brotherly country, second Bulgarian state in the Balkans. Bulgaria’s policy towards this country has been hesitant for decades. VMRO exists, because Macedonia is a foreign policy issue. I am glad to have here my allies from the European Conservatives and Reformists, as well as the International Republican Institute to make them acquainted with our point of view.

The topic about the European perspective of the Western Balkans has been permanently on the European Agenda in the past two years. This is due to a great extent to Bulgaria, because this topic has been among the main foreign policy priorities of this country during its rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2018. Bulgaria dealt successfully with the challenge to organize a forum on the future of the Western Balkans and to keep the attention of the other EU member states on the problems of the region. The last meeting in a similar format was held in 2003 in Thessaloniki.

Many things happened in 15 years, Bulgaria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva pointed out in her speech at the conference. Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia became members of the EU. Some of the Western Balkan countries became allies in NATO. Meanwhile, however, 6 countries in our region were facing difficulties on their path to the Euro-Atlantic future. Although I am among the foreign ministers who have been saying most loudly that the European Council has not been able to make decision to start membership talks with the Republic of North Macedonia and Albania for nearly two years, I don’t think that the EU is the only reason for this. I believe that the countries from the Western Balkans play a key role in this process. When you want to be part of the most democratic and successful project, you must fulfill the necessary criteria. I understand that some of these reforms are difficult, painful and expensive. Bulgaria also walked on that road.

One of the most common disputes on such forums with the participation of Western Balkan countries is the dispute about how the region looks at present and how it looked one or two years ago. Minister Zaharieva’s experience shows that there is no ambiguous answer to this question. In Minister Zaharieva’s view, many changes occurred in the policies of the Balkan countries and some of them were positive. The Bulgarian diplomacy did a lot to solve decades-old problem linked with this country’s relations with North Macedonia signing the good neighbor agreement with Skopje. The longstanding naming dispute between Macedonia and Greece was also resolved. The EU continues to negotiate with Montenegro and Serbia under some chapters. However, Minister Zaharieva pointed out that a slowdown of the reforms in some Balkan countries connected with the human rights, the judicial system and rule of law has been registered. EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel also underlined that the Western Balkan countries should be part of the European family and added:

In the first week of the new European Commission we say clearly– the Western Balkans are our priority and you can rely on the Bulgarian Commissioner for more concrete initiatives in new fields: innovation, scientific research, education, culture and youth.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov