16 minutes agoLajcak: EU, Western Balkans Must Take Enlargement Serious
Periskopi(3 years ago)
(3 years ago)EU special envoy for the Western Balkans Miroslav Lajcak said Western Balkan countries still have unresolved issues that continue to impede the road to the EU. Lajcak says that after Russian aggression in Ukraine, Western Balkan countries must take enlargement seriously. The European Emissary says this cannot be achieved [...]
Lajcak says that after Russian aggression in Ukraine, Western Balkan countries must take enlargement seriously. The European Emissary says this cannot be achieved unilaterally if one party takes this path seriously, but the other does not.
The Western Balkan countries, unlike Central European countries, still have unresolved issues from the past that continue to invade. For my country (Slovakia), and the rest of Central Europe, EU integration was an absolute priority, so we were fully committed to achieving it”, Lajcak said.
“I don't want to talk about someone's fault, but there have been factors in both the EU and the Balkan that lead us to a situation where we talk about the future of the EU, but without progress”, Lajcak has said.
But now, after Russia's aggression against Ukraine, we see that the EU and the Balkans should take enlargement seriously. This cannot be achieved if one party takes it seriously and the other is not”, Lajcak said in an interview for the Hina news agency.
Lajcak, however, says it is “not grateful to speak” for the dates of future EU enlargement.
But what I'd like to see is for our partners in the Western Balkans to start participating more in EU partnership programmes. To be in the same room. Not only when we discuss the Western Balkans but also for them to be part of the discussion on other topics, to see that we are serious about it”, he says.
