Berlin backs Western Balkans' EU accession process

German Minister for Europe Michael Roth said Berlin supports the process of accession of six countries in the region.

We are all responsible to ensure that the prospect of EU accession remains concrete”, he said, speaking during a Western Balkan summit in the Polish town of Poznan.

In his comments, Roth called for a quick opening of delayed accession talks with Northern Macedonia and Albania.

Last month, EU member states postponed a decision to open accession negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania by October. Several bloc members, including France and the Netherlands, opposed opening negotiations.

The other four Western Balkan countries, seeking EU membership, are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo, followed REL.

At the opening of the two-day summit, Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputovac called for “stronger co-operation” between the EU and the six Western Balkan countries, saying this will help boost the region's “instability and development”.

On Friday, the summit will join EU leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May, French Prime Minister Eduard Philippe and Polish President Andreze Duda.

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, through a Facebook status, announced he has already travelled to Poznan to attend Sam.

Kosovo has constructive approaches to boost regional co-operation and ensure good neighbourly relations, and in this spirit continues to commit every day to the common future”, Haradinaj wrote.

The Berlin Process, a diplomatic initiative by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was launched in 2014 in order to support a peaceful, stable and democratic future of the Western Balkans, as well as to improve regional co-operation and European integration of the region.