Austria and Italy Push Gradual EU Integration for Western Balkans

Austria and Italy are pushing a new EU proposal for the gradual integration of the Western Balkan countries. According to a confidential document reported by Euractiv, five member states have called on the European Commission to integrate candidate countries into the EU internal market earlier and in a more targeted way.

Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia also support the initiative. The aim is to revive the EU’s stagnant enlargement policy while limiting the influence of Russia and China in the region.

The document refers to the need for “strong and attractive incentives” to maintain the momentum of enlargement. Under the proposed model, Western Balkan countries would gain gradual access to different areas of the internal market once they have adopted the relevant EU rules.

The areas would include transport, energy, electricity, the digital market, competition and critical raw materials. The document also mentions specific rules on youth mobility, modeled on the British-European agreement.

According to the authors, the EU would strengthen its internal market and geopolitical influence in this way.

(weltwoche, bak)