Six Balkan hopefuls aspire to join the EU

European Union leaders host a summit with six Balkan counterparts on Wednesday. Here are some facts about the six Balkan aspirants:

Albania

The European Union agreed in March that Albania, already a member of NATO, can formally start membership negotiations. Once underway, possibly later in 2020, they could still take many years.

Bosnia

Torn by war from 1992 to 1995, Bosnia is still overseen by EU-led peacekeepers. It submitted an EU membership application in 2016, which is pending approval. That means it is not yet a candidate country although it is seen as a potential one.

Kosovo

Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, wants to join the EU but is far from being able to do so. It must mend relations with Serbia through EU-mediated talks that are being revived by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Five EU countries do not recognise Kosovo’s independence: Slovakia, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Romania.

Montenegro

Montenegro, which joined NATO in 2017, is already in negotiations to join the EU and is seen by the European Commission as likely to join the bloc later this decade, along with Serbia.

North Macedonia

North Macedonia, like Albania, is an official candidate for EU membership and it too in March won EU governments’ approval to start negotiations. It overcame a decades-long dispute with neighboring Greece over its name, agreeing to be called the Republic of North Macedonia. It also joined NATO in 2020.

Serbia

The largest non-EU Balkan country with 7 million people, Serbia is also in the midst of negotiations for membership. It is seen as the lynchpin in the region and the EU hopes Belgrade’s influence in the Balkans could help others reform. In February 2018, the Commission said Serbia could join the EU by 2025, albeit cautioning that was a very ambitious goal.

[Reuters]