Overview

The political elite in the Western Balkan countries should clearly comprehend what member-state building means in practice. Parties – journalists, civil society representatives, academics, interest groups – that shape policy debates have a responsibility to constructively contribute to meeting these challenges.

A broad and shared understanding of the ''europeanisation'' process is paramount for the overcoming competing and conflicting agendas which frequently generate difficulties in building and sustaining reform coalitions. Therefore, the countries of this region should develop strategies, plans and priorities which are followed up by genuine domestic debates, and exercise ownership for achieving sustainable institution building and actual transformation.

The ownership of the European integration process cannot be gained by the countries and societies of the Western Balkans without a clear vision or a realistic and result-oriented understanding of the challenges, costs and opportunities of the genuine EU member state building. It also requires the integrated efforts of all layers of society to adopt European values.