Backpack: Speed up negotiations on bringing Western Balkans to EU

No more time should be lost in integration and harmonisation efforts, Baerbox said Friday, following talks in Berlin with Slovenian counterpart Tanja Fajon.

“in the Balkans should not be created anything where Russia or other actors can be deployed”, Baerbox said.

Besides Russia, the biggest influence in the Western Balkans is looking for China.

The Western Balkans is geographically mid-EU. We have to eventually bring the people of the Western Balkans to our” political centre, Baerbock requested.

According to the German minister, the European Union should have kept its promise of opening membership negotiations, especially with Northern Macedonia and Albania.

“is in our strategic interest and also a matter of credibility”.

Negotiations with Montenegro and Serbia for EU membership are under way.

In March 2020, the European Council agreed to open membership negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania, but Bulgaria blocked that decision based on allegations that the Macedonian language is merely Bulgarian by a different name and that Skopje does not respect cultural and historical ties with Bulgarians.

However, Bulgaria's Parliament last week gave the government the green light for the adoption of the framework negotiations for North Macedonia's EU membership.

The move occurred after a change in the text of the negotiating framework, which would guarantee Bulgarians' rights in Northern Macedonia through constitutional changes and force Skopje to maintain good relations with Bulgaria. / REL