The Allure of the E.U.
This article is a response to an article in the last edition of The Sydney Globalist, entitled ‘Debating Development: The Controversies Laid Bare’. To view past editions of the magazine, click on ‘Past Editions’ in the menu above.
EU membership ... leverage against aspiring members.
In her article ‘Recognising Kosovo’, Zilka Grogan assessed the implications of Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence in February 2008. Since her article went to print, the list of states that have formally recognised Kosovo has lengthened from nine to 45, though it still lacks several heavyweights, such as India, China, and Russia. As Grogan predicted, states with internal secessionist movements, including Spain and Romania, have continued to refuse recognition.
Grogan rightly drew attention to the knife-edge position in which Kosovo’s declaration placed Serbia, expressing concern that Serbia may “shy away from support for Europe until it withdraws support for Kosovo’s independence”. The country’s powerful nationalist political bloc vehemently opposes Kosovar independence. Likewise, Boris Tadić’s pro-Western coalition, which formed a new government in May this year, refuses to recognise Kosovo.
“Serbia’s behaviour this year has illustrated the value of EU membership – with its concomitant economic and political benefits – as leverage against aspiring members.”
Nevertheless, as Grogan correctly anticipated, the new liberal government has ranked EU membership as a higher priority than Kosovo’s reincorporation. In July, Serbian security agents arrested former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić, who has been on the run for 13 years and whom the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague has indicted twice. The government is continuing reform programs that are conditions of EU accession, including combating corruption and strengthening the judiciary. Moreover, although Mr Tadić decries Kosovo’s declaration as illegal, he has committed his government to using diplomatic channels to voice dissent, rather than resorting to force.
Serbia’s behaviour this year has illustrated the value of EU membership – with its concomitant economic and political benefits – as leverage against aspiring members. Despite Serbian leaders’ fierce rhetoric condemning Kosovo’s independence, the fact that many EU states have recognised the fledgling state has not, as Grogan feared, imperilled Serbia’s path to accession.
