Albania's EU membership, between geopolitics and merit - The Union, maximum attention in the region. How and why did this approach change?
"The future of the Western Balkans lies in the European Union", these were some of the words of the President of the European Commission on the first day of the Investment Forum held in Tirana.
Since 2022, the European Union's approach to Albania and the Western Balkans has completely changed. Since then, we have seen not only increased EU attention to the region, but also an increase in its presence in terms of investments and projects. But why from 2022 onwards?
Because then Russia attacked Ukraine. From that moment on, the European Union completely changed its geopolitical direction. Years of waiting for Albania were rewarded with the holding of the First Intergovernmental Conference to open negotiations in July 2022, almost 5 months after the start of Russia's attacks on Ukraine. The war in Ukraine, although ironic, was a "blessing" especially for our country.
However, it cannot be denied that during that period, the so-called “enlargement fatigue” had set in among the countries of the region. The EU was not showing itself to be that open to accepting new countries, while the accession process kept dragging on, with the Union only adding to the demands that we had to meet. This pushed some countries in the region to establish closer relations with other partners from the East. A move that did not sound good for the European Union.
There is also no denying the fact that Albania has worked and accomplished many of the tasks that the European Union has set, while there is still much to do. However, in the conditions when the European Union opens negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, without fulfilling the criteria and passing all those stages that cost our country years, why should the EU be so strict with us and the rest of our neighbors in terms of reforms?
EU enlargement is meritocratic, but before that it is a calculated response to geopolitical challenges. The European Union seeks to be the main partner of the Western Balkans, to keep it within its sphere of influence.
The €6 billion Growth Plan was a tool used by the EU to help countries in the region implement reforms and thus accelerate the accession process. EU financial assistance to Albania dates back to the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1991, with a series of dedicated programs. The same applies to the rest of the region. However, for Eurosceptics, the EU has not spent as much on Ukraine as it has on the Western Balkans in years.
The war in Ukraine brought great economic damage to the European Union, with the energy crisis and inflation. The EU was almost completely dependent on Russian gas, as well as on Ukrainian and Russian inputs in the automotive, chemical and steel industries. For this reason, the Union is aiming to create an energy pole, automotive industry inputs and artificial intelligence in the region, to break its dependence on Russia and China, to secure its resources from “home” in times of crisis, as well as to compete with other superpowers. Naturally, this is not enough to achieve this, so investing only in the Western Balkans, but investments are also being extended to all its member states.
Based on Ursula Von der Leyen's statement at the Investment Forum, the 8 agreements signed on the first day of this event will benefit both parties, both local companies in the region and those in the Union.
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