Integration not complete without Western Balkans, leaders say

05/05/2008

At a two-day summit in Ohrid, representatives of 18 Central European countries discussed energy, infrastructure and EU enlargement. They agreed to disagree about Kosovo.

By Marina Stojanovska for Southeast European Times in Skopje -- 05/05/08

Serbian President Boris Tadic (left) and Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski hold a press conference at the end of the summit Saturday (May 3rd). Serbia will host the next CEI summit. [Tomislav Georgiev]

European integration is the only option for countries in the Balkans, officials and diplomats from 18 countries concluded at the two-day Central European Initiative (CEI) summit in Ohrid on Friday (May 2nd) and Saturday.

"The process of Euro-Atlantic integration should not be considered complete without the full inclusion of all Western Balkan states and Ukraine into the NATO Alliance and the EU," said Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski, who hosted the meeting. Candidate countries "should intensify the necessary reforms, while the EU will continue to support their efforts", he added.

Participants agreed that economic development remains a high priority for Central Europe, and that growth depends on stable energy supplies and a high quality transport and telecommunications infrastructure. New energy plants should be built in order to enhance national, regional and the overall EU economies, they concluded.

"Bad infrastructure is the weakness of this region," said Serbian President Boris Tadic, who will host the CEI summit next year.

At this year's event, discussions were overshadowed by two hot-button topics in the region -- Kosovo independence and the Greece-Macedonia name dispute. Serbia has staunchly rejected a February 17th independence proclamation by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership, while Greece blocked a NATO invitation that otherwise would have been extended to Macedonia at the April summit in Bucharest.

Crvenkovski said his country advocates a fair compromise in the dispute with Greece, but said this "does not depend on us only".

On Kosovo, the summit was split. Leaders from the new state were not invited to the summit, as that would require the approval of all 18 members, including Serbia. Crvenkovski warned that the issue poses a threat to regional stability and could be difficult to resolve.

Even the EU has not been able to reach a united position on Kosovo independence, he said.

Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia all sent heads of state to the summit. Three other CEI members -- Italy, Romania and Ukraine -- were represented by ambassadors. In addition, Turkish President Abdullah Gul was invited as a guest.

The Ohrid event sent a strong signal for a united Europe inclusive of all countries in the region, Gul said.