Thessaloniki Agenda
The so-called Agenda of Thessaloniki (in English called the Thessaloniki Agenda and in German also called the Promise of Thessaloniki ) is a statement in the final document of a European summit meeting that took place from June 19 to 21, 2003 in the Porto Carras hotel complex on the Greek Aegean coast. In this document, Macedonia , Albania , Kosovo , Serbia , Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina were promised the prospect of accession to the European Union . The meeting is often called Western Balkans Summit (Engl. Western Balkans Summit called). Since Porto Carras is little known, the matter became known in the media after Thessaloniki, about 120 kilometers north-west .
Paragraph two of the final declaration read:
“The EU confirms that it unreservedly supports the European orientation of the Western Balkans. The future of the Balkans lies in the European Union. The current enlargement and the signing of the Athens Treaty in April 2003 are an incentive and encouragement for the Western Balkans to follow the same successful path. You are now facing a major challenge: you have to prepare for integration into the European structures, which will end with accession to the European Union, by adopting European standards. Croatia's application for EU membership is currently being examined by the Commission. It is up to the countries of the region how quickly they progress. "
The journalist Michael Martens wrote in 2012 that the validity of the agenda had been called “more seriously than ever before” by the “Eurozone crisis”: In December 2012, Jean-Claude Juncker said: “At the moment I have no head for enlargement ". The German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a speech also in December 2012 that after the “probable” admission of Croatia as the 28th member of the EU, “enlargement would be over for the time being”. These statements received a lot of media attention in the states of the Western Balkans. They were understood there as a "cancellation of the promise" by Thessaloniki.
The 2003 Western Balkans Summit will be continued in the Western Balkans Conferences , which have been held at different locations since 2013.
See also
- Albania and the European Union
- Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union
- Kosovo and the European Union
- Macedonia and the European Union
- Accession negotiations between Montenegro and the European Union
- Serbia and the European Union
Web links
- European Union: EU - Western Balkans Summit, Thessaloniki. (Press release) June 21, 2003.
Individual evidence
- ↑ European Commission: The Stabilization and Association Process. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
- ↑ a b European Union: Summit EU - Western Balkans Thessaloniki. (Press release) June 21, 2003.
- ↑ eu2003.gr: Council, 19-20 / 06/03 and EU - Western Balkans Summit, 21/06/03 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved July 20, 2013.
- ↑ Michael Martens: Obituary for Thessaloniki: The Balkan states fear a lifting of the EU promise from 2003 . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . December 19, 2012, page 8. online
