Ljubljana, October 5, 2021 – SLOGA as a platform of NGOs active in the development, global learning and humanitarian aid supports the efforts to establish a clear timetable for the process of integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union (EU). The Western Balkans is a priority geographical area for the implementation of the international development cooperation policies of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union. The countries of the Western Balkans are recipients of official development assistance and technical assistance. The purpose of international development cooperation is to contribute to the development of the recipient country, with the aim that the recipient countries themselves become donors through their own development. In 2006, the Republic of Slovenia committed itself as a new member of the European Union to increase its share of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to 0.33% of Gross National Income. Continuing the process of integration requires concrete action from both the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union in the form of increased ODA resources for the Western Balkans.
We, therefore, underline the importance of respecting the fundamental values of the European Union – respect for human rights, freedom, equality and the rule of law, and solidarity – in order to continue the enlargement process. The SLOGA Platform would like to point out that the process of integration is not just a technical task of transposing European rules, but must also include the strengthening of democratic oversight institutions, an independent judiciary, freedom of the media and civil society.
The SLOGA Platform welcomes the European Union’s willingness to allocate additional 30 billions euros to promote the socio-economic recovery and sustainable development of the region. “The process must offer concrete opportunities for citizens and civil society organisations from the Western Balkans to actively participate in the process of defining the future of Europe, as well as to promote their participation in the process of the Green Agenda and sustainable development of the Western Balkans as part of the EU accession process,” said Marjan Huč, Head of Advocacy of the SLOGA Platform.
The mere offering of European money cannot replace the importance of confidence in the enlargement of the European Union for the people of the Western Balkan countries. The level of support for EU integration in Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia is around 50%, the result of previous policies (source). At the same time, we should not overlook the fact that some countries in the Western Balkans are confronted with a legacy of war, systematic human rights violations and autocratic rule. All this is an additional challenge for them and for the European institutions and EU Member States.
* In 2006, the Republic of Slovenia committed to increasing its share of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to 0.33% of Gross National Income (GNI) as a new member of the European Union. The commitment is an integral part of the European Consensus on Development, adopted in the form of a Joint Statement by the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, and the European Parliament and the Commission on the European Union’s development policy, entitled “The European Consensus” (2006/C 46/01). In principle, this 0.33% of GNI for ODA should be achieved by 2015. As part of the European Consensus on Development, the EU adopted a timetable for the then Member States (the 15) to allocate 0.7% of their GNI to development aid by 2015.
By 2015, most EU Member States had not met this commitment. That is why, in 2017, a new Joint Statement by the EU Council, the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, the European Parliament and the Commission adopted the New European Consensus on Development “Our World, Our Dignity, Our Future”, renewing the existing commitments, but this time within the framework of the 2030 Agenda, i.e. by 2030.