Western Balkans Integration Is Priority for Hungary

The six-month rotating presidency of the European Council has been held by Hungary since July 1. The Hungarian program identifies seven key priorities, with an emphasis on a consistent and merit-based enlargement policy. Julianna Armas, a researcher at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (MKI), spoke to our paper about the expectations and importance of the Western Balkans region.

Political leaders pose for a photo during the Berlin Process Summit 2024 on October 14, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. The Berlin Process is an international initiative established in 2014 that fosters development in the six western Balkan nations: Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the spheres of civil society, youth and business. (Photo: Halil Sagirkaya / Anadolu via AFP)

The key element of EU enlargement is the Western Balkans, which Hungary considers a priority .

A csatlakozásra váró nyugat-balkáni régiót hat partner alkotja: Albánia, Bosznia-Hercegovina, Észak-Macedónia, Montenegró, Szerbia és Koszovó.

Many of the Western Balkan countries have been waiting decades to join the EU. North Macedonia and Albania officially became candidates in 2005 and 2014 respectively. Formal negotiations with Albania have just recently started. Serbia was granted candidate status in 2012 and started accession negotiations in 2014, while Montenegro back in 2012. Bosnia and Herzegovina applied for membership in 2016. Although not yet a candidate country, Kosovo signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU in 2016.

EU opens first stage of accession negotiations with Albania

It is of historic importance that the European Union has opened the first chapter of EU accession negotiations with Albania, with a view to the country becoming a member of the European Union as soon as possible, Hungary's minister of foreign affairs and trade said in Luxembourg on Tuesday. Speaking after the second intergovernmental conference between the European Union and Albania, Peter Szijjarto said that the Hungarian Presidency's agenda will focus on accelerating EU enlargement in the Western Balkan countries. The minister stressed that it was a great privilege and honor for Hungary that substantive negotiations with Albania had begun during the Hungarian Presidency. He recalled that the last time preparations for the accession of a candidate country, were completed was Croatia in 2011, during the first Hungarian EU Presidency. He expressed the hope that "we will not have to wait until the next Hungarian Presidency for a country to become the next new member of the European Union".

Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama at the second intergovernmental conference between the European Union and Albania (Source: Facebook/ Peter Szijjarto)  

More than twenty years ago, the region received a promise from the European Union that it would one day become a member of the community, but so far this has hardly materialized, said Julianna Armas, a researcher at the Hungarian Institute of Foreign Affairs.

She added, 

Only Croatia has, strictly speaking, became a member in 2013 and since then the others have progressed to a greater or lesser extent in the accession process.

Julianna Armas (Photo: Hungarian Institute of Foreign Affairs)

The war in Ukraine has brought a slight change in this process, mostly in perception, the expert said.

In the perception of enlargement policy and the role of the Western Balkans at the EU member states level, we have seen that Ukraine has made great strides on the integration path, which is also a geopolitical argument for guaranteeing stability,

the expert said, stressing that 

If we compare this with how long other candidate countries - and here we are thinking of the Western Balkan countries - have been waiting in this anteroom, it may not be commensurate with what has taken place with our Eastern partners. It is more of a political declaration that enlargement policy has now come to the surface, but its practical implementation or concrete progress is not so spectacular,

she pointed out.

There is consensus in Brussels that the EU has an interest in the accession of the six Western Balkan countries. The European Council talks of "geostrategic investment" and "closing grey areas" - in simple terms, bringing the region closer to the EU before it falls under the greater influence of Russia or China.

Many experts say it is inconceivable that the EU will grow to more than 30 members and that everything else will remain the same - from the principle of unanimity, to farm subsidies, to the size of the EU Parliament and the number of EU commissioners.

Why is this important for Hungary?

Hungary currently holds the EU Presidency and enlargement policy is a priority of focus in our program.

This is a push for merit-based enlargement, which is very important. We are helping candidate countries into the European Union by having them comply with EU acquis, and in this the Western Balkans is the top priority for us.

Julianna Armas stressed, adding

They are a region neighboring us and are surrounded by EU member states. We know the history of this region, where integration and disintegration are present simultaneously, and we see the stabilizing and transformative power of integration.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shake hands at a joint press conference in Belgrade, September 29, 2023 (Photo: Milos Miskov/Anadolu/AFP)

The Hungarian-Serbian relationship is perhaps the most visible, the expert added.

Clearly, the presence of a Hungarian minority beyond the borders is the determining factor as to which are key countries where relations are deepening most emphatically. For the six Western Balkan countries, the Hungarian position is generally supportive of integration, and this is also independent of the existence of a Hungarian minority and the coloring of the current political leadership. The framework for bilateral relations is driven by Hungary's interest in the integration of these countries, and this is a very important security policy objective from a Hungarian perspective.

The expert also noted that Western Balkans integration is also of great economic interest to Hungary, as it is an economic area where not only large Hungarian companies, but also SMEs can establish themselves. When these countries also become part of the common market as part of the EU, already having a functioning network of relations locally will be a very significant benefit, the expert stressed. The proximity of the market to us is also important for a security of supply.

Serbia used to be at the forefront of Western Balkan integration, but this seems to have faltered recently. The country's foreign and security policy alignment is under-realized; in the near future, Montenegro and Albania are more worth watching,

the expert said.

The European Union has ambivalent relations with Serbia, the largest of the six candidate countries. On the one hand, the EU has recently concluded a multi-billion euro agreement on the mining of lithium, needed to make batteries, which will make Serbia less dependent on imports from China. On the other hand, the proximity of the Belgrade government to Moscow is viewed with suspicion. For example, Serbia is not taking part in the sanctions against Russia.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic 
(Photo: AFP/Odd Andersen)

"Montenegro has set a very ambitious target, with the new government aiming to conclude accession negotiations by 2027-28 and to close several chapters during the current Hungarian Presidency. Albania is not there yet, but negotiations have recently started with it, too. That it happened during the Hungarian Presidency is both symbolic and and also shows that it is a priority for us," the expert stressed.

There is a long way to go, but it does send a good message, Julianna Armas concluded.

Cover photo: The Berlin Process Summit 2024 held in Germany's capital on October 14, 2024. The process is an international initiative created in 2014 that promotes the development of six Western Balkan countries: Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the fields of civil society, youth and businesses. (Photo: AFP)