The accession process of the Western Balkan countries can substantially strengthen the EU soft power in the Muslim world and Eastern Europe and become a positive source of inspiration for other states. Unfortunately, the EU’s narrative on enlargement towards the Western Balkans is defensive, negative and lacking geostrategic vision.

The previous waves of enlargement have always had a positive narrative and geostrategic vision. For instance, the "big bang" expansion (2004-2007) was presented as a historic reunification of Europe after the Cold War. It was also seen as a substantial increase of the EU leverage on the global scene due to the accession of 12 new states with dynamic economies and more than 100 million inhabitants. Unfortunately, the integration of the Western Balkans is perceived in the EU as a burden, not as a potential asset. The EU treats its engagement in the region as an unpleasant but necessary duty. In consequence, the stabilization agenda dominates the European narrative. The region is sometimes even called a laboratory of the Common Security and Defense Policy. On the other hand, the EU perceives enlargement in this part of Europe as a return to its roots or funding principles. The postwar reconciliation between France and Germany that became the foundation of the EU is promoted as a reference point for the rapprochement process taking place between the Western Balkan nations recovering from the Yugoslav wars. The EU vision of the accession process generally lacks as well a positive geostrategic component. First of all, the Western Balkans as an enclave surrounded by the EU is considered an internal, per se European affair. Secondly, the global dimension of the enlargement in the Western Balkans has been defined as a test for the EU’s aspirations to exercise wider international influence. "If the EU is not able to stabilize its own European backyard, how could it aspire to be a stake-holder on the global arena?" - this type of question is often raised in such a context.

Shortcomings and assets

Certainly, the region of the Western Balkans finds itself in the middle of the transition process, copying with many serious challenges. A high level of corruption, influential organized crime structures, defects of democratic structures, bureaucratic burdens on the economy, unresolved internal and external political problems (Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia’s name) and persisting ethnic cleavages are the most important handicaps of the region. In effect, the Balkans still badly need the EU’s assistance and support. Nevertheless, substantial progress has been achieved since the end of the 1990s. What is most important, the Western Balkans possess certain significant assets for the EU, which can strengthen substantially its soft power. Unfortunately, an awareness of this fact is very limited. The assets of the Western Balkans are the following:

• the most secularized and pro-Western Muslim communities in the world

• multireligious nations composed of Muslims and Christians

• two relatively efficient multiethnic states

• high level of Roma integration in some Western Balkan states

• know-how of political and economic transition

European Islam

The future of the EU’s external influence will to a large degree depend on its ability to facilitate democratization and modernization of the Arab world and integrate Muslim diasporas living in Europe. The latter objective especially will demand a thorough reflection on the European self-identity, namely acceptance that Islam is one of the integral ingredients of Europe’s heritage and civilization. The Western Balkans as a homeland of large native Muslim communities, a unique phenomenon in Europe, have an extremely high relevance in this context. Currently, the people of Muslim cultural background in the Western Balkans, excluding Croatia which will become an EU member in 2013, constitute around 40 percent of the region’s inhabitants. Moreover, in the next decade they will become a majority due to higher natural growth rates. Even now, in three countries (Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo) out of six Western Balkan states (excluding Croatia), people of Muslim cultural background are in majority and in two of them (Macedonia, Montenegro) they have a large share in their population (20-40 percent). It means, that the accession of the Western Balkans will bring a strong symbolic geopolitical message, because for the first time in the EU’s history, several societies of the member states will be in majority or to a large degree of Muslim origin.

The Arab Spring caused that Arabs and Europe need badly positive examples of the Muslim-Christian coexistence or even integration of the Muslims with the West. There is no better place to find evidence of these phenomena than the Western Balkans. Currently, three nations which are multireligious live in the Balkans, respectively Albanians, Montenegrins and Roma. The first nation is the most diversified because it consists of believers of different streams of Islam, Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics and others. The existence in one region of three multireligious nations (Christian-Muslim mix) is a unique situation in the world. Indeed, the Balkan Muslims are the best proof that being a Muslim does not imply automatically anti-Western feelings but, to the contrary, it means an ability to coexist with the other religious faiths and even share common national identity with Christians and identify with the Western system of values (secular democracy). In consequence, the Muslims from the Western Balkans seem to be naturally predestinated to play a role of ambassadors of Europe to the Muslim world, particularly Albanians and Slav Muslims from Montenegro. The Albanians, due to its internal religious diversity, can become a source of inspiration for Lebanon, Syria or Egypt that are homes to huge Christian minorities and in case of the first two states are also inhabited by many different Muslim denominations. For these deeply divided Arab nations the Albanian experience of harmonious coexistence of various religious groups within the framework of one nation can be an especially interesting issue. People of Muslim cultural background living in the Balkans thanks to the secular political model are characterized by a huge integral diversity as far as concerning their worldviews, system of values or level of religious practice. In consequence, they could attract the interest of other Muslim communities, particularly the most similar to them, as for instance Tunisians or Turkic nations. In general, the crucial precondition for the success of modernization and democratization of the Muslim world lies in its ability to accommodate people of different outlooks and mindsets.

In attempting to find appropriate models of integration for their Muslim immigrants, EU countries should pay much more attention to the legacy of Islam in the Western Balkans. It is very indicative that the Muslims from the Balkans who settled down in Western Europe constitute the best integrated Muslim communities in the EU. In this regard, particularly Montenegrin experience can be useful for the EU. The Slav Muslims identify very strongly with the statehood of Montenegro founded on the civic definition of political nation and many of them gradually accept Montenegrin ethnic identity.

A source of inspiration

The first stereotypical image of the Balkans coming to minds of other Europeans is that of a terrible experience of bloody ethnic wars, deriving allegedly from ancient ethnic hatreds and resulting in unbridgeable divisions. However, currently in the Balkans we can find two relatively efficient very multiethnic states, respectively Macedonia and Montenegro. They have been built on different political models. Macedonia is a consensual democracy where ethnic communities enjoy extensive wide competences. On the other hand, Montenegrin political elite created a strong civic state identity. Maybe, It will sound like a blasphemy for many Western Europeans but from the point of view of the efficient interethnic cooperation Macedonia and Montenegro can play a role of the source of inspiration, not only for many non-European multiethnic countries but also for some of the mature European democracies.

For majority of Central European members of the EU, the integration of large Roma communities living in miserable conditions on the margins of society is a very serious challenge. The expulsion of Roma immigrants from France and Italy last year confirmed that also the Western European states cannot successfully deal with this problem. In this aspect, again the Western Balkans could be treated as a potential point of reference for the EU states. In fact, the huge Roma communities living in the Western Balkans despite many serious problems are decisively the best integrated Roma people in Europe, particularly in Serbia and Macedonia.

After the Arab Spring, the EU relaunched its Neighbourhood Policy based on political conditionality and assumption that the EU should support democratization and modernization of its neighbours. A transfer of the European know-how related to political and economic transition of Central Europe in the 90’s to the European Neighbourhood has been one of important instruments of the EU soft power. In this context, it would be useful to add the experience of the Western Balkans’ transition into a "manual of transition" prepared by the EU for the ENP countries. Certainly, the Western Balkans’ transition is an ongoing process which still cannot be called a success story. Nevertheless, its main advantage stems from its recent and unfinished character that provides an opportunity to draw lessons simultaneously from failures and successes. Moreover, NGOs from the Western Balkans have already established networks of cooperation with Arab and East European partners seeking inspirations for transition of their countries. These initiatives should be strongly supported by the EU and must gain much more prominence in Europe itself. In effect, the Western Balkans will cease to be perceived in the EU only as a powder keg but also as a toolbox which which can be used for the benefits of Europe.

* Author is Programme Director "EU Enlargment and Neighbourhood" at demosEUROPA - Centre for European Strategy.

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