Hadžidedić: Countries that Brussels bureaucrats see as Muslim – are not treated as European

LJUBLJANA, (Patria) - Member of the International Institute IFIMES, Dr. Zlatko Hadžidedić, in the article "EU Strategy for the Western Balkans: Bureaucrats in a Crusade" reminds that the European Commission has set a deadline of 2025, by which some Balkan countries should join the European Union. However, Dr. Hadžidedić points out, Brussels sees only Serbia and Montenegro as real candidates. The fact that the doors are formally open to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Macedonia, Dr. Hadžidedić calls a gray zone, "without any timeframes or roadmaps."

"They are left waiting, with no tangible prospects of becoming members, and without any explanation as to what makes them less worthy candidates than Serbia and Montenegro, given that these two countries are just as poor, illiberal, and undemocratic as the remaining four," Hadžidedić writes in an analysis published by IFIMES. This International Institute for Middle Eastern and Balkan Studies from Ljubljana regularly analyzes events in the Middle East and the Balkans.

"With a certain degree of cynicism, one could conclude that Serbia and Montenegro have been rewarded for aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, and Serbia's permanent pressure on Macedonia, while the victim countries have been punished. However, a closer look at the population structure of the four unrewarded countries reveals that, unlike Serbia and Montenegro, they have a relative surplus of Muslim population. Until now, there have been dilemmas as to whether the European Union should be considered an exclusive Christian club, given the long-standing discrimination against Turkey and its treatment as an unwanted candidate. After the new European Commission strategy for the Balkans, there are no more such dilemmas: countries that Brussels bureaucrats perceive as Muslim – regardless of the actual percentage of Muslims among their population – are not treated as European," believes Dr. Hadžidedić.

You can read the full analysis at the link HERE.