Fajon and Pahor at the Friends of the Western Balkans conference on the importance of EU enlargement

Ljubljana – The Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon and former President Borut Pahor emphasized the importance of the European Union’s expansion to the countries of the Western Balkans at the opening of the two-day Friends of the Western Balkans conference in Ljubljana on Thursday. Fajon described the EU’s expansion as a geopolitical necessity, while Pahor warned that the situation in the region is deteriorating.

The founder and director of the Friends of the Western Balkans institute, Pahor, assessed at the event titled New Global Geopolitics and the Western Balkans that progress in the area of EU expansion in recent years has been minimal. “The Western Balkans is not known for its stability. (…) It may seem that the Western Balkans remains calm and safe, but in my opinion, the situation is worsening,” he warned.

“If we want to accelerate the expansion process, we must act boldly,” said Fajon. She is convinced that the EU should invest significantly more in the concept of gradual inclusion of potential new members instead of the current “all or nothing” approach. As she explained, candidate countries should participate in key EU policies even before full membership.

She also advocated for strengthening cooperation between the EU and the Western Balkans and reminded of the initiative by Slovenia and Germany to accelerate the expansion process by introducing qualified majority voting for some intermediate technical steps.

Pahor believed that the EU faces two options: “Either the EU will move towards the United States of Europe or towards gradual disintegration. There is not much room for compromise between the two options.” He is also convinced that the only proper way for the EU to expand to the Western Balkans is through a package that would allow all six countries to join the union simultaneously.

Pahor also pointed out that the situation in the world is changing for the worse. “We are witnessing the return of power politics and spheres of influence. International institutions, which have strived to maintain peace, security, and prosperity since the establishment of the UN, are dramatically losing their significance and influence. Protectionism is returning. The number of armed conflicts is increasing,” he added.

The two-day conference in Ljubljana was attended by 34 speakers from 18 countries, including seven former presidents and four former prime ministers, with special guests being the EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina Miroslav Lajčak and the High Representative of the international community in BiH Christian Schmidt. (April 24)