THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Towards a new legislative term

THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 30 agreements are separate and not directly related to the accession process, although the progress that they pro- mote undoubtedly influences the political and economic progress of these states and so also their chances of meeting the criteria required to fully join the EU. It is worth mentioning that the five candidates from the Western Balkans are not in the same position, or in the same phase of negotiations, and their chances of achieving integration differ widely. North Macedo- nia, Montenegro and Albania, already NATO members, have few major obstacles to completing negotiations, although they still have to make democratic and ad- ministrative reforms of various types. On the contrary, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are facing several types of issues that will block the success of their incorpora- tion progress unless they can be resolved. Let’s look at each of them in detail, from the longest to the shortest candidacy. North Macedonia North Macedonia asked to join the Union in March 2004 and the European Council agreed to award it can- didate status in December 2005. The Commission rec- ommended opening accession negotiations in October 2009, although made these talks subject to democratic reforms. In turn, in June 2019, the Council agreed on the negotiation calendar but required progress in the fight against corruption, judicial reform, the reform of the intelligence and security services and public admin- istration reform. Finally in March 2020, the European Council agreed to start negotiations that really opened in the intergovernmental conference at ministerial level, also known as the Accession Conference, in July 2022. There do not seem to be any serious issues impeding the success of the process, except for completion of the required reforms that have still not been implemented. However, negotiations have only just begun and only three chapters have been opened so far. Montenegro Montenegro asked to join the EU in December 2008. It was awarded candidate status by the European Coun- cil in December 2010, which also approved opening of negotiations in June 2012. Fourteen conference meet- ings have been held since the first accession confer- ence, which took place that same month. To date, ne- gotiations have begun on thirty-three chapters, three of which have already been provisionally closed. This is therefore the country furthest ahead, with the best perspective for integration. It does not present severe issues either, although a few political and administrative reforms remain outstanding. Serbia Serbia asked to join the EU in December 2009. In March 2012, it was awarded candidate status by the European Council, which also approved, in June 2013, opening of negotiations for integration. These negotiations began in January 2014, in the first meeting of the accession conference at ministerial level. Thirteen meetings have been held since, and 22 chapters have been opened, two of which have been provisionally closed. However, Serbia, alongside Bosnia-Herzegovina, is the Balkan country which currently seems to have the most obstacles to joining the EU. Firstly, this is due to the political stance of its population, largely anti-West because it has not forgotten the unilateral secession of Kosovo, supported by Western powers, or the bombing of Belgrade by NATO in 1999. The resentment is still there and is largely, alongside strong historical and eco- nomic ties, the cause for the majority support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that leads it even further from the European project. Russia was the only power which supported Serbia’s territorial integrity and vetoed the recognition of Kosovo’s independence in the Secu- rity Council, because many Serbs considered Kosovo to be the roots of their homeland. Sixty-three percent of Serbs believe that the West is responsible for war breaking out between Russia and Ukraine and three quarters think that the Russian leaders were forced to go to war due to NATO’s expansion policy,