Ilhan Kyuchyuk to Politicki.ba: “Non-paper” risks peace in the Western Balkans

Politicki.ba: Why you signed a letter to Mr. Borell and Mr. Vrhelyi?

Kyuchyuk: The short answer is because we do care about Bosnia and Herzigovina and we believe its future belongs to the European Union. Bosnia and Herzigovina citizens have suffered enormously from the ethnic conflict in the 90s and I think it is high time for the country to make a big step forward its European path and become very soon a candidate country. But to succeed in this goal, reforms should be inclusive with the participation of the entire population. All political parties and their elected office holders, as well as a wide array of civil society actors, organisations and interested public, should be included in a meaningful manner in the Constitutional and electoral reforms.

Politicki.ba: What are your main concerns on this matter? What the EU should do – right now, by the end of this year and next year?

Kyuchyuk: The European Union have been always defending the principals of plurality, inclusiveness and openness of political processes. This passes through a functioning civic democracy and overcoming the painful past of Bosnia and Herzigovina. In this sense, our mission is to have a leading and active role in facilitating and supporting the implementation of the 14 key priorities, offering the country a clear path towards the prospect of achieving the candidate status. Talks shouldn’t take place behind closed doors and it is now of crucial importance for the EU to set the right parameters on the ground and indicates clearly at what point negotiations deviate from the priorities or run counter to key principles, values and norms.

Politicki.ba: Is enlargement dead? If we look at activities in that process, it is not looking like a “headless run”, but steady moving back.

Kyuchyuk: I wouldn’t say so, we have a new enlargement methodology that will make the process more political and merit based oriented. Of course, the region has many opponents and people who do not want to see the Western Balkans as an integral part of the EU. It is regularly a subject of fake news or various attempts for external influence which could also undermine the confidence in the EU. Such is the case with the recently circulated non-paper for the region, which imposes an extremely dangerous idea on redrawing of the borders of the Western Balkans. However, the truth is that the EU stands behind the European perspective of the region and this became crystal clear with the current COVID19 crisis. Despite the difficult situation, European Union urgently mobilised € 3.3 billion for the countries in the region to deal with the effects of the pandemic. This European form of solidarity, which has long been called into question, has now proved to be real and it continues with the donation of thousands of vaccines coming directly from the EU, in addition to the COVAX programme.

Politicki.ba: Is the EU capable of handling Western Balkans successfully alone? Or it can’t do it without the full support of the US?

Kyuchyuk: The United States is the European Union’s closest partner with whom we share common democratic values and defend the multilateral world order. The United States has played a significant role in the Western Balkans in recent decades, and I do not believe that excluding them from the region is beneficial. On the contrary, we see that President Biden administration will be active in the region and I believe that if the EU and the US deepen its partnership in a more coordinated and in-depth manner in some key areas, we can boost the European integration process.

Politicki.ba: Is the fact that the influx of so-called “Non-papers” regarding Balkans shows that the EU is lost? What is your take on Balkans-related “non-papers”? Have you seen any of it or even discussed it?

Kyuchyuk: European parliament and the institutions are well aware of the so called non-paper and we are closely monitoring the outcome from it. Despite the fact that, at this stage, we do not have a confirmation for the authenticity of the document we cannot ignore that its irresponsible suggestions to redraw map of the Western Balkans risk stability, peace and EU integration. Moreover, it can open old wounds from the bloody conflicts in the 90’ and this is why together with colleagues we have asked for a debate in the EP Foreign Affairs Committee on the topic. I am strongly against this this puzzle game and I believe that the best way to overcome the differences between the countries of the Western Balkans is through their full membership in the European Union, where they will be all united in a common border.

Тази публикация е достъпна и на следните езици: Bulgarian