Ahead of the BELTALKS conference - organised by GLOBSEC, of which he is one of the founders - we spoke with Vladimir Bilčik about enlargement, geopolitical and geo-economic topics, and the challenges facing both the European Union and the Western Balkans. The Slovak diplomat and former European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia assesses that responsibility does not lie solely with the candidate countries.
This was one of the motives for organising the conference in Belgrade, bringing together all key players from the Western Balkans. When asked what the main message of the gathering should be, Vladimir Bilčik says:
"We held the first edition of BELTALKS last year, and this year we are continuing and growing - both in the scope of the conference and its programme, as well as the number of speakers and participants.
I hope the main message of this year's gathering will be that BELTALKS, Belgrade Economic Talks, is a connecting platform. It connects decision-makers, people working on economic and social changes, and people dealing with Europe.
Belgrade Economic Talks is a platform that provides a space for dialogue about Europe, European integration, and European Union enlargement, especially with representatives of the business community and decision-makers.
The entire idea behind BELTALKS is to bring Europe and candidate countries together in Belgrade to discuss the future of an enlarged European Union and how to reach it most easily, primarily through strengthening the economic agenda.
We have representatives coming from several candidate countries - North Macedonia, Ukraine, Moldova, and, of course, Serbia. We have four special envoys from European Union member states: France, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. We also have representatives of numerous international financial institutions.
I hope the result will be a platform that not only connects people but also creates ideas - ideas that can drive change and ultimately lead to something that is long overdue: a much stronger presence of Europe in the Western Balkans and candidate countries, followed by the accession of this region to the European Union."
Serbia has homework, but Europe has one too
Speaking about Serbia, Bilčik does not single out a single area as a sufficient indicator of progress, instead viewing the process through three sets of obligations: legislative changes, their practical implementation, and broader reforms. At the same time, he points to the need for the European Union to shoulder its share of responsibility for the future of enlargement.
Looking at Serbia today, where do you see the most significant progress on its path to the European Union?
"That is a very good question, and the answer is not simple. Serbia has a lot of homework. There is a whole range of open issues that Serbia must resolve to have a realistic chance of joining the European Union in the foreseeable future.
Part of it is of a technical, legislative nature. Another part refers to real changes - ensuring those laws come to life in practice and are implemented. The third part relates to reforms touching upon numerous areas of the economy, as well as social and political life. These are internal reforms, the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, and alignment with the European Union's foreign policy. These are three things we constantly repeat whenever you ask anyone from the European Union what Serbia needs to do.
So, much of it is in Serbia's own hands. But I think there is also a broader European problem when it comes to enlargement. Today, we are discussing enlargement in completely different circumstances. These are circumstances of war, of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. I think this has fundamentally changed our approach to enlargement. The European Union has always expanded in relatively stable international circumstances. It has always been a transatlantic endeavor supported by the United States. Today, the situation there is also significantly different.
And that is an opportunity for Europe as well.
Because Europe must prove that it is the natural choice. That we are the natural environment… Challenges today come from the east, from the west, and from within. That is why I think there is also a serious European homework assignment - to show that, despite all challenges, we are ready for this enlargement and capable of carrying it out.
We can absorb these countries. Perhaps gradually, in multiple phases, but in the end, it will make us stronger - geo-economically, geopolitically, and security-wise, because we are exposed to numerous threats.
Therefore, it is not just about what is happening in Serbia. It is also about what is happening in Europe. I think both sides of that same coin must move in the same direction.
The European Union must demonstrate much more convincingly that it is serious about enlarging."
Gradual integration as a possible new enlargement model
Since the summit in Tivat, as well as the proposal put forward by Vučić and Rama, the idea of gradual accession has been widely discussed - a model where candidate countries could reap concrete benefits from integration into the European market and other EU policies even before formal membership. Bilčik connects this approach with changed geopolitical circumstances and the growing consideration of alternatives to full membership.
"We must be much more creative when it comes to enlargement. We can no longer expand the European Union in the same way as twenty-five years ago. I come from Slovakia. We joined in 2004. The process was fairly clear. Europe and the entire transatlantic world stood on much firmer ground back then. And there was no serious discussion about some sort of plan B.
Today, I think gradual integration, where countries are rewarded for achieved progress and gradually introduced into the European Union, is one way for the Union to show it is serious, precisely at a time when talk of a plan B is becoming more frequent. This is no longer the simple and predictable world we knew twenty or twenty-five years ago. That is why gradual integration is necessary.
Schengen is a big deal. It is a very concrete problem for many people from Serbia. You are surrounded by countries at whose borders you enter the Schengen area. It would be much easier for everyone, and people would genuinely feel concrete benefits. The same applies to the economy. Huge resources and a lot of money are lost waiting in queues at borders.
BELTALKS is a very good place to discuss gradual integration because it deals with concrete issues, often very strongly tied to the economy, where countries can integrate relatively quickly without yet getting a seat at the table, voting rights, their own commissioner, or their members of the European Parliament.
After all, that is precisely what the proposal that Aleksandar Vučić and Edi Rama put forward in April of this year is based on. The world is becoming very unstable, unpredictable, conflicts are erupting, and we want to know where we belong. That does not mean we must have voting rights tomorrow. It does not mean we must have a veto right tomorrow. It does not even mean we must have our own commissioner in Brussels, nor members in the European Parliament. But we need to be part of your geo-economic and geopolitical space. I think that message further reinforces this approach.
A major debate is currently underway within the European Union regarding what all of this would specifically mean. Member states initiated this debate, and the Commission subsequently took it over."
What can the Western Balkans bring to the European Union?
Vladimir Bilčik does not view economic integration solely as a benefit that candidate countries would receive from the EU. On the contrary, he points out that the Union itself could gain fresh energy, investments, more closely linked supply chains, and greater resilience, particularly in energy and new technologies.
"The entry of the Western Balkans into the EU will not immediately transform things from the ground up when it comes to the size of the economy. But I think it can bring new energy and new opportunities. And it can restore what we desperately need across Europe today - the feeling that positive change is possible. I think we have lost that feeling somewhat in Europe.
I remember the 2004 enlargement, when we had that major European Union expansion. As many as ten countries entered in 2004 - Central European countries, Baltic states, Slovenia, Malta, and Cyprus. Of course, that did not change economic dynamics or figures overnight, but it changed energy, economic competition, and the way the market functions.
Every enlargement disrupts the European Union to a certain extent. Many people and many countries, especially those that have been in the European Union for decades, do not want such disruptions.
Enlargement has consequences. It inevitably brings change. But what we are saying, and what the message of BELTALKS is, is that change is an opportunity. Because it is not just the Western Balkans that must change to adapt to the European Union. The European Union must also change to adapt to the future. And with the Western Balkans in the Union, we will be much stronger geo-economically. Because if we integrate this space into the European Union, it will be part of the European economy. It will not be part of the Chinese economy, the Russian economy, or some economy standing on its own.
I talk to many people from the business world, especially in Central Europe - from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary. They see many opportunities for expanding their investments in the Western Balkans. It is difficult for Central European companies to expand their business further to the west. There are many more opportunities, and in some aspects, it is more natural to talk about mutual expansion and the connection of Central and Southeastern European economies.
This can further strengthen the energy market. We must better connect gas pipelines, oil pipelines, and various supply sources. We must also diversify them. Connecting the entire Western Balkans with the rest of the European Union, connecting gas pipelines, supply routes, and supply chains is once again an important factor of resilience.
And alongside that, here in Serbia and across the Western Balkans, there are many smart people. The future of the modern economy lies in new technologies and artificial intelligence. And there is enormous potential there."
Understanding the process as an important part of accession
The WMG Foundation and EUpravo Zato are launching a platform for monitoring the region's European integration to help the entire process be better understood.
How useful could such a platform be to both European institutions and institutions in Serbia?
"Very useful. We need facts, and we need transparency. We live in a time where people invent stories, and those stories suddenly become real news. That has become the new normal.
But when it comes to joining the European Union, one thing we truly must preserve is a process where progress depends on achieved results. And even that is being called into question today.
Look at Serbia. The European Commission has been proposing the opening of Cluster 3 since 2021. Is that correct? I think about five years have passed. That has not happened due to various issues related to the decision-making process at different stages and, of course, due to certain political issues that some member states occasionally raise.
That is why I think something like EUMETER - which I am very glad we will be able to present at BELTALKS - can be extremely useful.
I am very glad that GLOBSEC has been with this initiative through BELTALKS from the very beginning. This can be very useful for anyone who wants a clear view of how far Serbia has progressed internally.
I also hope for something we might see next year, at BELTALKS 2027 - that this platform becomes the basis for something representing a healthy incentive for candidate countries to compare themselves against one another. You have data for Serbia, you can see what Serbia has done in legislation across various areas.
It would be good to have the same for every Western Balkan country so we can see who has reached where. It would also be good to have data for Ukraine and Moldova to understand how prepared those countries are.
I think that way you could have a very good, transparent set of data enabling a high-quality, healthy, fact-based debate on enlargement. And we need that in Europe because the conversation about enlargement has become so emotional. It would also serve as a kind of mirror, but also an incentive for member states and European Union institutions.
That is why I am keeping my fingers crossed for EUMETER and hope that this year we will not only have EUMETER Serbia, but that next year we will have EUMETER for all candidate countries."
(EUpravo zato)