Several Western Balkan states are currently on the way towards EU membership. The countries in the region seeking integration with the EU include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Kosovo has also submitted an application for its EU membership.
With potential further accessions, the question arises for the EU how a larger Union can function in the future and which rules should apply to new member states. A group of EU member states has now prepared joint guidelines on this matter. Austria belongs to this group, in addition to Italy, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia. In a position paper adopted in Rome, the mentioned countries advocate that the new member states should receive the same rights and obligations as all other EU countries after accession.
EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos underlined that the EU must learn from the past rounds of enlargement. New instruments are planned to ensure that progress in reforms and compliance with mutual values can be monitored without calling into question the equality of new member states.
For Austria and particulary for regions like Carinthia, developments in the Western Balkans are of special significance. The states in the region are important economic and social partners and are located in the immediate vicinity of the EU. A gradual integration of new countries can contribute to greater stability, cooperation and new opportunities for the entire Alps-Adriatic region in the long turn.
