EU leaders at the summit in Slovenia: Guarantee for Accepting Western Balkan Countries

After weeks of disagreements on the formation of a summit statement for EU and Balkan leaders Wednesday, envoys from the 27 EU nations reached an agreement on “that confirmed their clear support for the European perspective”, the official said.

Reuters reported on September 28th that the fuel for the declaration was seen as a reflection of the lack of enthusiasm in the EU for Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Northern Macedonia and Serbia to join the bloc.

Another EU official said that although an agreement on the declaration had already been reached, the EU strategy to expand the community in the southeast faced obstacles, even if the door is officially open to those who meet the criteria for membership.

“I cannot say that everything is fine,” said the official, noting the unwillingness of certain member states to further expand the bloc.

“Of course, there are many problems, but we also cannot say that the door is locked,” he explained.

EU member states have refused to disclose their views on summit talks, although Slovenia, which heads the EU, has made efforts to include in the agenda the obligation to join the six Balkan countries, according to a document Reuters has access to.

Another EU official said Slovenia's proposal was not successful.

Rich northern countries fear repeating Romania and Bulgaria's emergency accession in 2007 and poor-managed migration of Eastern European workers to Britain, which has turned many Britons against The EU.

Bulgaria rejects Northern Macedonia's accession to a linguistic dispute, meaning that even after statements have been adopted at the summit, diplomats do not expect progress soon, Reuters reports.