By CLIVE RUMBOLD
Anniversaries are occasions that invite us to pause and reflect on the past, present and future. Anniversaries do not invite a mere recollection, but an assessment of what has been accomplished and the challenges that still lie ahead. In this sense, anniversaries are also an invitation to make sure we keep on the right path.
On the tenth anniversary of the EU’s 2004 Eastern Enlargement, when the EU and its Member States pause to reflect on the past and the present, we cannot help feeling encouraged and optimistic about the future.
The past of the Member States which now form our Union was marked by fracture and conflict – the continent was torn by war, and then between democracy and dictatorship. There is no need to remind this audience of a repressive and deprived past it knows all too well.
The present is a Union of twenty-eight states and more than half a billion people, at peace, with freedom guaranteed under the rule of law, and in the long run, demonstrably prospering.
All this was achieved by EU countries working closely together while still maintaining their distinct identities and their independence. This is an achievement that fully deserves the adjective that is so often attached to it – historic. The historic nature of this achievement was acknowledged by the Nobel Committee, which awarded the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union, in large part due to its Eastern enlargement.
Of course, not all is rosy. The Union has been grappling with a very serious financial and economic crisis over the last few years. But we must not forget that dealing with a financial and economic crisis together, in peace and freedom, under the rule of law, is very different from dealing with such problems in surroundings of conflict and repression of political, civil, economic and social rights.
Our historic achievements, what the Union has been able to accomplish together, have encouraged all our member states to work together on the future – a future of peace and stability, a future of employment and growth. The EU Enlargement process, a product of the vision and determination of many European leaders, is an important part of this success story.
EU enlargement policy has kept this success story alive through successive accessions that have seen the number of members gradually increase from the original six to twenty-eight. And let us not forget that more than three quarters of the EU Member States are former ‘enlargement’ countries.
At a time when the EU faces major challenges and significant global uncertainty, it is gaining new momentum for economic, financial and political integration, enlargement policy continues to contribute to peace, security and prosperity on our continent.
Within a framework of strict but fair conditionality, the prospect of accession drives political and economic reforms, transforming societies and creating new opportunities for citizens and businesses.
The fifth wave of enlargement to include the countries of Central and Eastern Europe not only united East and West after decades of artificial separation, it also provided the mutual benefits of deeper trade integration, a larger internal market, economies of scale and expanded investment and job opportunities.
From the start of negotiations to actual accession, exports from the EU to the acceding countries more than tripled. It is estimated that one third of the already high growth of the acceding countries in the same period was due to the effect of enlargement. So both the new and and the existing Member states clearly benefited from increased economic growth and prosperity.
Enlargement policy has aided the Balkans too. If we pause on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the fifth EU enlargement and reflect on the region as a whole, we see encouraging signs. We find cause for optimism.
The EU has been a crucial actor in building peace and stability in the Western Balkans since the nineties. We can now see that the clear EU perspective for the entire region outlined in Thessaloniki in 2003, alongside our determined daily work together, has delivered.
Croatia is the newest member state, bringing the borders of the European Union even closer. The Serbia-Kosovo dialogue under EU auspices is also delivering. In June last year, the European Council decided to open accession negotiations with Serbia and the Council authorised the opening of negotiations for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and Kosovo. Accession negotiations are on-going with Montenegro. In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the High Level Accession Dialogue has helped sharpen focus on reforms. Our level of commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European future remains firm.
In various ways across the region, we see the transformative power of the EU at work.
Now what about Albania? On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the EU’s 2004 enlargement, I believe it is undeniable that Albania has made great progress from its totalitarian communist past. Albania is today a very different country from the one we saw at the beginning of the nineties.
But it is also undeniable that Albania is a country of predominantly young people, and for Albania’s new generations the reference point is not communism and the distance between now and then, but Europe, and the distance between Albania and the Union. Moving forward on the journey towards the EU is the clear aspiration, the dream, of the vast majority of Albania’s citizens.
In June, we have a clear rendez-vous to shorten that distance by a significant step – candidate status. The EU member states in the Council, and indeed all the EU institutions, look forward to seeing proof that Albania’s commitment to the rule of law is steadfast. As we’ve made clear, that requires a continued trend of pro-active investigations and prosecutions in the fight against corruption and organised crime.
The reason EU enlargement has so radically transformed societies from destructive to constructive, from repressive to free, from the rule of men to the rule of law, is because the goals of EU membership are not a utopia – they are attainable.
The ideas of the nineteenth century, which promised the end of the state and politics and the attainment of some kind of utopian paradise were tragically proven wrong in the twentieth century. But what the European Union promises and accomplishes, what the European Union demonstrates every day, is the possibility of better politics and better states. This is attainable, and what we know we can attain becomes our responsibility.
All EU Member States are, because of their own will and determination, and because of the EU’s enlargement process, much better states than they were before. Not perfect, because nothing is, but clearly better at serving their citizens and improving their citizen’s lives.
The EU’s transformative power rests on the fact that the rule of law, fundamental rights and freedoms, and better economic governance for prosperity are all realistic, attainable goals.
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the fifth EU enlargement, and celebrating two other waves of enlargement since, Albania must focus its energies and deliver on the goals that our enlargement has proved to be within reach and have already improved societies – democracy, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms and economic governance for prosperity.
