Pusić: Croatia part of region, continues to advocate its further stabilization

First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusić was the keynote speaker at the panel discussion on “EU and the Western Balkans” at the Bled Strategic Forum today

First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusić was the keynote speaker at the panel discussion on “EU and the Western Balkans” at the Bled Strategic Forum today. Other speakers included NATO Assistant Secretary General Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, foreign ministers of BiH and Macedonia Zlatko Lagumdžija and Nikola Poposki, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Philip Reeker, Albanian former prime minister Ilir Meta, European MP Ivo Vajgl, and foreign policy advisor to Serbian president Marko Đurić.

In her opening remarks, Pusić said that before one asked the question “who’s next?”, one had to answer questions such as who wanted the enlargement, was the enlargement policy appealing, what did it bring, was Croatia the last country to accede for the foreseeable future or had its example proven that the Western Balkans countries had a realistic possibility of EU membership.

If we look at the chart, Pusić said, it is a case of territorial consolidation, not enlargement. Croatia, despite being a full-fledged member, has remained a part of the region and continues to advocate its further stabilization.

Grabar Kitarović said that the EU prospect was vital for domestic reforms, while Lagumdžija said 2014 was a crucial year for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Reeker considered Euro-Atlantic integration crucial for the Western Balkans, adding that the US supported it and saw enlargement as a development tool. We should spend energy on what is important, not waste it on speculation, said Macedonian FM Poposki.

Vajgl explained there would be less financial means, but a lot of possibilities for those who wished to be a part of the EU. “Maybe one day somebody will ask why Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall didn’t do the same as after WW2 – incorporate all. In 150 years’ time that won’t be important anymore, it will look like a major strategic error. The differences between countries in the region are not that big to prevent a ‘big bang’.”

“We have to make ourselves, the countries in the region, successful,” concluded Pusić.

The three-day Bled Strategic Forum was closed by Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec, thanking the organizers and the participants. 

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