Leaders from the European Union and the Western Balkans are set to meet Wednesday at a summit that was first scheduled to focus on anchoring the volatile region to the world’s biggest trading bloc but had its agenda overrun by the coronavirus crisis.
The meeting, as originally planned, would have been an opportunity for the EU to offer the six countries that are not yet members a substantial package of economic incentives. Albania and North Macedonia, frustrated by delays in the start of their membership talks, might have been given a date to start the negotiations.
But no longer. Now, the coronavirus will dominate the summit, which because of the pandemic will take place online instead of as the highly symbolic event that had been planned by Croatia, a Balkans success story which joined the EU in 2013 and now hold's the bloc's rotating presidency.
The prospect of EU membership has been a powerful driving force for democratic, political and economic reform in the Balkans, where Russia and China also are vying for influence. The delayed membership talks and a perception among some in the region that the EU forgot its partners in the Balkans when the virus hit has undermined confidence in Europe.
Still, the EU did approve Tuesday an aid package of up to 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) just to help 10 countries in its “neighborhood” cope with the virus, including 750 million euros ($816 million) for the countries taking part in the summit: Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
“Enlargement and neighborhood countries are our closest partners. Now more than ever, it is absolutely essential that we stick together and show solidarity in addressing the economic and social impact of this global crisis,” Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said in announcing the financial aid.
As it looks to burnish its credentials as a far more worthy partner than either Russia or China, the EU will also work at the summit to highlight a separate 3.3-billion-euro package ($3.6 billion) it previously approved for the six Balkans nations.
The bloc will also herald a “new phase of close cooperation” in light of the coronavirus, according to a summit explanatory note released by EU headquarters. But with enlargement off the table, the regional hopefuls will have heard many of the promises before.
“The summit will be an opportunity for the leaders to reaffirm their unequivocal support for the European perspective of the region,” the note said. The Balkans countries will be able “to recommit themselves to this perspective and the transformational reform process that comes with it as their clear strategic choice.”