Den Balkan integrieren: Plädoyer für eine EU-Südosterweiterung
Integrating the Balkans. An Appeal for a Consequent EU-Enlargement in Southeast Europe

Summary/Abstract: Germany will hold the presidency of the European Union starting from January 2007. The main challenges which Germany will have to tackle are the so-called “enlargement fatigue” together with the constitutional crisis within the EU. For both, it is necessary to go back to the original idea of the European Union: peaceful political cooperation and economic development. As far as the integration of the Western Balkans is concerned, two major achievements in the region give rise to hope: first, the SEEFTA (South East Europe Free Trade Agreement) has been created and should be ratified soon; second, the “Energy Community Treaty” between South Eastern Europe and the EU has come into being in 2006. These offer a good basis for economic development in the region. The perspective of accession to the European Union is also the strongest incentive for democratic movements in the region. At the same time the European Union should insist that there will be no accession to its structures without a complete fulfilment of its economic and political conditions. Germany’s commitment to the integration of the Western Balkans is expressed in its support of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, among many other efforts to support these countries. Germany should continue to lead the region on its way to the European Union and place the subject on the agenda of the EU presidency.

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