Interview: Albert Maes, former EU ambassador to Bangkok, Tel Aviv, Belgrade

The Treaty of Lisbon is not dead

'I have great hopes that new Irish referendum is going to have the positive result. If we have the positive result we will have the decision making processes improved. And with the improvement, with the Treaty of Lisbon, I think we'll be able to tackle the issue of Western Balkan and its accession process.'



What is the next concrete step in EU Enlargement policy?

Well, I cannot tell you, but the next close step should be to deal with Croatian candidacy, but the problem there is Slovenia. We cannot deal with Croatia, as long as there is the Slovenian veto, because accession of Croatia is something that all member states have to accept, and decision for any state to accede to EU, has to be unanimous. That is often forgotten. But I think that Croatia still have couple of political problems to solve before entering the EU, this is all true for Serbia and also for all countries in the Western Balkan. I cannot give you any prediction because the predictions still depends on what happens in the EU, Government of EU, and on the Western Balkan. But is is very clear that it has been affirmed again, again and again that EU wishes the Western Balkan to come to EU.

Is the new enlargement of EU possible without Treaty of Lisbon?

I would say, in the present situation, under the agreement from Nice, it would be difficult, but on the other hand, I have great hopes that new Irish referendum is going to have the positive result. If we have the positive result we will have the decision making processes improved. And with the improvement, with the Treaty of Lisbon, I think we'll be able to tackle the issue of Western Balkan and its accession process.

People of Ireland will be invited to re-referendum. Why weren't the Dutch and French people invited to vote again on Agreement on Constitution?

They don't have to vote again, because the Constitution is dead. But here, the Treaty of Lisbon is not dead, and it has been ratified in all member states. The only problem is Ireland, but they found the consensus with EU which guaranteed that each member state will have a representative in the Commission, which was the very important thing for the Irish Government.

How about the possibility that EU accepts Croatia as a new member, and then close the border in the sake of consolidation, as Angela Merkel stated?

I would be hesitant to agree. I think she has a certain point there, but she is not taking into account the complex situation in Western Balkans. Western Balkans is such implication of nations, and in my view it is very difficult to deal with those nations in isolation. With this statement, Angela Merkel is forgetting a bit about the broader picture. It will be a problem to create a new border, the Schengen border between Croatia and all the other Western Balkan countries.

Does enlargement automatically imply the higher level of integration in the EU?

Well, I think, yes. I think that final ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon is practically a prerequisite for the meaningful enlargement, especially if we accept all the Western Balkan countries, which is six to seven more. In the time of former Yugoslavia it would be just one, so that is also a problem.

What are the concrete reasons for Turkey taking too long in the accession process?

I would say briefly that today neither the EU, nor Turkey are ready for the Turkish accession. EU is not ready because of the decision making process that is too weak, if we have the Treaty of Lisbon ratified it would be better but still difficult, and secondly Turkey is not ready because they have so much to do in the field of human rights, efficiently working bureaucracy, in the field of the role of the army, that in my view, today what they need to do is to go on with the accession process and to see in the next five years to come whether the things evolved.

Does size of the Turkey play the role in this process?

Turkey would be very important member state. It will become the most populated country in the EU, and would be the big problem with the present decision making process. Secondly, Turkey is a huge economy, and it would be a shock for the EU economy to adapt to that.

What should Serbia still do in order to get the candidacy status?

To develop regional cooperation.

That's it?

Yes, but also it have to find the resolution for the Kosova problem and to find resolution to the Bosnia problem.

How about bringing Ratko Mladic to justice?

Mladic is a formal issue, he is not a substantive issue. I was talking about substantive issues.


(Published: 20.06.2009.)