Page 53 - bneMag April 2022 Russia living with sanctions

bne April 2022 Opinion 53
BALKAN BLOG
The world has changed, it’s time for EU enlargement to change, too
Clare Nuttall in Glasgow
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has concentrated the minds of political leaders on the southeast fringes
of Europe, convincing them that they must embed themselves urgently into Western institutions for their own protection. The choice made by Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and most of the Western Balkans is clear, but for this to happen the institutions they hope to join need to change too.
On February 28, just four days after the invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to the EU for urgent accession under special procedures, and signed Ukraine’s application to the EU shortly afterwards. This was swiftly followed by applications from Georgia and Moldova. At
the same time, several EU aspirant states from the Western Balkans sought a speeding up of their accession to the bloc, a process that has dragged on for many years.
What all of these states have in common is that they are seen as being vulnerable to potential Russian destabilisation in the context of the new geopolitical conditions. This has encouraged them to make a definite choice in favour of Western integration.
Admitting them to the EU is party a matter of protection – EU High Commissioner Josep Borrell said on his visit to Skopje on March 14 that the start of accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia will strengthen security in the region –
but also a sign of where they choose to stand in the world.
“The world has changed dramatically since the EU integration process was designed more than two decades ago. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the world is split right in the middle: those who uphold democratic values and freedoms and those who seek to destroy them and create total societal submission to authoritarian leaders, a very Orwellian scenario. In other words, the war in Ukraine has shown that the world is split into white and black with very little space for grey in the middle. Countries must choose where they belong, because Russia and China are knocking at their doors. Staying in the middle, or being neutral, is not a safe option,” commented Natalia Otel Belan, regional director, Europe and Eurasia at the Center for International Private Enterprise, in an interview with bne IntelliNews.
No fast track
The Ukrainian application got immediate backing from eight presidents from EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe,
who signed an open letter on February 28 supporting Ukraine's accession to the bloc, while others followed with supportive statements on social media. It also received resounding support when put to a vote in the European Parliament.
However, at the informal summit of EU leaders in Versalles
on March 10 and 11, there was no agreement on fast-track membership for Ukraine, with the leaders of France and the Netherlands – long recognised as sceptics when it comes to the accession of some of the Western Balkans countries – voicing their objections. President Emmanuel Macron of France, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency for the first half of 2022, talked of the need to be “vigilant” and said that he did not think it was possible to “open an accession procedure with a country at war”.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that there is “no such thing as a fast track” for accession. "I want to focus on what can we do for Volodymyr Zelenskiy tonight, tomorrow, and EU accession of Ukraine is something for the long-term – if at all," he added.
The statement adopted by EU leaders and released on March 11 invited the European Commission to submit its opinion on Ukraine’s application for membership. "Pending this and without delay, we will further strengthen our bonds and deepen our partnership to support Ukraine in pursuing its European path. Ukraine belongs to our European family," the statement said.
It was clear that the agreement didn’t live up to the hopes of some leaders present, who had hoped for more urgent support for Ukraine. Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who has
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