The members of the Committee exchanged opinions on the European perspective of the Western Balkans, with the online participation of the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi.

Commissioner Varhelyi pointed out that at the recent EU-Western Balkans summit held within the Slovenian presidency, the EU reaffirmed its commitment to the enlargement process. He stated that the rule of law, economic reforms and the functioning of democratic institutions are key to the candidate countries’ progress in the enlargement process. He shared the European Commission’s expectation and readiness to open clusters three and four in the negotiations with Serbia during the Slovenian presidency.

Prof. Dr Zarko Obradovic said that over the years, unfortunately, the enthusiasm for joining the EU has decreased in the countries of the Western Balkans and the crises within the EU has made Brussels turn its attention to other regions and its own problems.

"I believe that the bulk of the responsibility lies with the EU institutions and the policy pursued by the individual member states. Despite frequent announcements, the enlargement policy is not high on the European Union's agenda. In addition, the EU often changes its enlargement criteria. This significantly slows down the negotiation process and, what is worse, opens the door for the EU members to literally blackmail the countries of the Western Balkans on the way to the EU, due to their own special interests.

The EU is losing its authority because it does not want to react to open issues relevant to the overall situation in the Western Balkans, even in cases where Brussels is a signatory to agreements. The best example of that is the Brussels Agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, signed in 2013. For eight years now, Pristina has not wanted to implement the provisions concerning the Community of Serb Municipalities and Brussels has not reacted, even though it is the guarantor of the implementation of this Agreement," Obradovic concluded.

The prevailing view in the discussion was that a long time had passed since the opening of the European perspective for the Western Balkans, yet little progress had been made in the meantime and the European integration process must be accelerated.

In September, the PACE Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy appointed George Papandreou as the Committee's rapporteur to draft the report the on the European perspective of the Western Balkans.