Petritsch urges rapid EU integration of Serbia

Serbia could acquire EU candidate status as early as the beginning of next year if the second Irish EU referendum in October and the Lisbon Treaty both have a positive outcome this year.

This, at least, is the view expressed by Balkan expert Wolfgang Petritsch, Austria’s ambassador at the OECD in Paris, at a press conference in early July at the Concordia in Vienna. The former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and head of the Vienna City Council foreign affairs department presented a new book about Serbia together with Christophe Solioz, secretary general of the Center for European Integration Strategies (CEIS) in Geneva and economics expert Alexander Petritz in Belgrade entitled _Serbia matters_. It contains articles by 26 experts and critics from throughout Europe and suggests that through a lack of political will and a general disenchantment with enlargement the EU runs the risk of weakening the prospects for EU membership by the states of the western Balkans, particularly Serbia. This would be fatal both for the EU and the countries of the western Balkans and should be remedied at once through active EU integration initiatives.

Imaginary barriers remain

Christophe Solioz introduced the new book, which contains contributions by top writers about the post-Milošević era and possible approaches to the integration of Serbia in the EU and to its acquisition of candidate status as soon as possible. The reasons for the drawn-out process were to be sought both in Serbia and in the EU, said Solioz. Serbia was split into traditionalist and innovative groups. Even 20 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall there were still imaginary barriers on both sides, which needed to be dismantled

Petritsch: Serbia’s central role among the Balkan states

Wolfgang Petritsch emphasised the geostrategic significance of Serbia. The country was the largest in ex-Yugoslavia and continued to play an important role. All of ex-Yugoslavia’s unresolved problems were connected with Serbia and solutions could therefore be found only with Serbia’s cooperation. This was evident above all in Kosovo and the fate of Bosnia. Kosovo needed to be recognised as an entity. The divided city of Mitrovica showed that there were not only physical barriers but also mental ones. The EU had itself contributed to this situation, however, said Petritsch, particularly in view of the visa requirement for Serbs wishing to visit the EU. He described this as a serious mistake that hampered Serbia’s integration. There were also considerable problems caused by the fact that the EU had not to date offered Serbia and the countries of the western Balkans any credible European perspectives. A new impetus to the EU’s western Balkan policy was needed following the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty.

Attractive economic partner

Real estate and economics expert Alexander Petritz listed a number of arguments demonstrating that it was “high time” for an economic rapprochement with Serbia. The country’s economic standards were closely aligned to those of the West. A good quarter of Serbia’s population had working experience in Europe and Serbia was the economic centre and hub of the western Balkans. Belgrade had 2 million inhabitants; it was situated on two navigable rivers, the Danube and Save, and was of geostrategic importance, above all as a transport hub and energy corridor in Europe. Petritz stressed the great potential that Serbia had but also the huge deficit to be made good, particularly in terms of office space, shops and housing. In one or two generations it will have caught up with the West, continued Petritz, but in the meantime there was plenty of business opportunities, especially in terms of energy supply and the construction of 1,000 km of motorway. The international financial crisis had affected Serbia but it was doing better than its neighbours. The dinar exchange rate was fluctuating by around 10 per cent, but was nothing like as volatile as the 25 per cent swings in the Hungarian forint, for example. Real estate business, by contrast, was stagnating.

Russia’s role in Serbia overrated

In reply to questions, both Alexander Petritz and Wolfgang Petritsch stressed that Russia’s role in Serbia was overrated in the West. According to Petritz, Austria, Greece, Italy and Germany were larger investors in Serbia than Russia. The Russians scored selectively with energy cooperation and emotional factors from the past. Wolfgang Petritsch said, Belgrade’s relationship with Moscow reflected the division in society in Serbia and also the Serbia’s seesaw relations with the West. Whenever Serbia had problems with the EU and the West, Russia offered closer links. This was the result of historical sympathies and also the increasing disinterest in the Balkans by the West. Petritsch warned that a split between two rival zones of influence could occur, producing a “second Cyprus situation emerging”, as he described it. Economically, Russia played only a “limited role” in Serbia, particularly through its energy and oil. But EU partners such as Italy were also involved in the Russian pipeline projects.

Only pan-European solutions

In summary, Petritsch stressed that unresolved questions could be settled only within the framework of the European Union and a stronger European integration process. Some of the borders in the Balkans, which had been written with blood, were beginning to disintegrate through European integration, but barriers remained in the heads of the local population, as illustrated by the continuing border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia. Here, too, solutions would be possible only in a European context. One day borders would no longer play a role, but in the meantime problems could not be solved by the local populations alone and were likely to remain in people’s minds for generations. It was conceivable, however, that in the distant future the Balkan states would be part of the EU Schengen system. Russia also needed to be involved in a pan-European framework.

The popularity of the EU within Serbia was currently diminishing because the Serbs felt rejected by the EU. There was nevertheless a clear majority in favour of the EU and even radicals were pro-EU. This was a very positive development in spite of the Kosovo issue, continued Petritsch. Serbia itself saw no alternative to the EU, but there was too little pressure coming from the EU itself. Countries like Germany and France might have other problems, but the time had come for the EU to step up its efforts with regard to Serbia and to award it candidate status as early as possible next year. EU integration required active policies. Conversely, it was in the interests of both sides for the EU to insist that Serbia and the western Balkans fulfilled their obligations.