These proposals have been going around for several years now, mostly promoted by different think tanks in Europe, for staged accession and different forms of accession. These are good ideas, because for the western Balkans, it would be useful to take the membership question off the table a bit. It should be there, but it should not be an immediate end goal. It should be integration on different levels—not working only toward this end goal.
The problem with this is that other countries, like Ukraine at the moment, see this very differently and want to move forward immediately on direct integration and membership.
It is a process that needs to be discussed, but it will certainly have value for the Balkans, which will see immediate economic benefits for the population. I think it will also be beneficial for EU member states.
Yes, I see merit in this.