Page 10 - bne IntelliNews newspaper 14 July 2017

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July 14, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 10
Euroscepticism grows in richer Western Balkans countries
Clare Nuttall in Bucharest
Just 40% of Serbians believe the country will benefit from EU accession, a new poll from Gallup shows. The figure is similarly low in Montenegro – 49% – although as many as 84% of Kosovans and 80% of Albanians want to join the union.
Broadly speaking, the poll reveals that the richer countries in the region, and those that are most advanced on the accession path, have seen a sharp decline in enthusiasm for entry to the EU. Conversely, in those with the lowest GDP per capita, for whom accession is a distant prospect, citizens were most eager to join.
In Albania and Kosovo, “as two of the poorest areas in the region with high unemployment rates, residents may associate membership with a means to improve their living standards and stimulate job growth”, Gallup analysts wrote. Albania and Kosovo have the lowest GDP per capita in the region, at just $4,543 and $3,796 respectively in 2015. Serbia ($5,235) and Mon- tenegro ($5,826) are at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Another factor is likely to be the two countries’ relative isolation in a mainly ethnic Slavic region, leading them to look to the wider international community for support. In Kosovo, for example, Prime Minister Isa Mustafa recently expressed strong reservations about a mooted regional common market, saying that Kosovo didn’t “want past experiences in new packaging”.
All governments from the region are aiming for EU accession, but their progress varies widely from Montenegro, which already has numerous negotiation chapters open, to Kosovo, which has not yet been able to apply. The lengthy path towards accession has left some in the region questioning whether they will ever be able to join, as EU priorities have shifted away from enlargement. At a summit in Trieste on July
12, EU leaders sought to reassure regional politicians that accession is still in their future, though without making any new statements about timing.
Within the Western Balkans, those who thought EU accession would benefit their