Open Letter to the Heads of Government of the EU Member States

Two years ago, almost to the day, the leaders of the European Union met at their summit during a period of great tension, provoked by the war in Iraq. On that occasion, in Thessaloniki, these leaders - some of you were there - chose to look beyond immediate tensions and to keep the vision of European consolidation and integration intact by issuing a special declaration that reassured the nations of the Balkans that their future lay in Europe.

Once again, there is a need for leadership in Europe. While citizens in some of the founding nations of the Union have expressed themselves vigorously against the proposed Constitutional Treaty, we remind you that more than 20 million inhabitants of Europe, but not yet citizens of our union, look to us for a guiding light for their future and that of their children. They ask themselves whether Europe is aborting its historic mission of consolidating a continent divided some sixty years ago. They ask whether they will be part of Europe or whether they are to be a political no-man's land, contested by neighbors.

They need a loud and clear message from Europe - not in ambiguous Brusselese, but in clear language from the tribune of Europe's democracies - you, the leaders elected by your citizens.

We write this letter to you because we have confidence in Europe. The people of the Balkans need a message of confidence from you. As European citizens deeply involved in the politics of Europe, we urge you to show leadership now.

We believe that a powerful and credible signal should be sent to the 20 million Europeans of the Western Balkans. They should be told that if they continue to pursue a path of reform, reconciliation and reintegration they are firmly on the path to becoming members of European Union. It is difficult for us to imagine a Europe capable of protecting the interests of its citizens from new and emerging global threats when it cannot address decisively the fate of a small part of its own continent. The need to secure Europe through integration determines the need for reform of the European institutions, a need for a European constitution.

We certainly do not ignore the magnitude of the tasks facing the Balkan nations as well as us all in making them stable and successful members of a democratic and dynamic union of European states.

But too much is at stake for this to be ignored. The challenges of the Balkans are a mirror of many of the challenges of Europe. We must show that different cultures, religions and nationalities will be the source of creativity - instead of conflict.

We know the difficulties that are sometimes there in convincing everyone of the importance of the wider challenge of Europe, but we also know that it can be done. We have shown leadership on hugely challenging issues before, and it would be an abdication of our common historical responsibility if we now reduced politics to just a transmission of populism.

We understand that it is not an easy task for some of you to convince your domestic public opinion that a further enlargement is needed. But you have the arguments to convince them, for you know how much we already spend in that region and how many of our soldiers are there. You know that the current status quo has outlived its usefulness and that EU accession is the only way out of it. You know that the EU does not have an exit option from the Balkans and that by closing the enlargement door you open the door for European neo-colonial presence in places like Bosnia or Kosovo.

We are at an important juncture in the development of the European Union. How we handle it will affect all of Europe, and nowhere more profoundly than in the torn and fragile societies of the Balkans.

We urge the heads of state and government of the European Union to keep alight the path that these fragile new democracies are now trying to steer.

Europe can survive the crisis with the European Constitution. What Europe cannot survive is a new Srebrenica.

Giuliano Amato, Former Prime Minister of Italy and Chairman of the International Commission on the Balkans

Richard von Weizsacker, Former President of Germany and Member of the International Commission on the Balkans

Jean-Luc Dehaene, Former Prime Minister of Belgium, Member of the European Parliament and Member of the International Commission on the Balkans

Carl Bildt, Former Prime Minister of Sweden and Member of the International Commission on the Balkans