The European Union should not give up on enlargement

FLANKED BY THE leaders of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, hailed the opening of the Svilaj bridge, linking the two countries. It was part of her tour of the western Balkan region, a term used by the EU to define the Balkan countries that have not yet joined the club and which have sat waiting on the doorstep since being promised eventual membership back in 2003. The happy integration between the EU and its Balkan neighbours was cast as nothing less than inevitable. “All the western Balkans belong in the European Union,” said Mrs von der Leyen. “It’s in our common interest, but I also believe it’s our destiny.”

Kind words collided with reality a week later. At a summit in Slovenia on October 6th of all 27 EU leaders and their six counterparts from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, the prospect of new countries joining the EU any time soon was absent. Instead, the western Balkan countries emerged with a pledge to cut roaming fees when their citizens visit the EU. An attempt by Slovenia to guarantee their membership by the end of the decade was dismissed as an outrageous publicity stunt. Literal bridge building was not accompanied by the metaphorical kind.