O'Brien: Population leaving Western Balkans encouraging EU engagement

US Assistant Secretary of the Bureau for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien, at an online press conference, has talked about the agenda they have for the Western Balkans and the renewed “ ” of the EU compared to this region.

O'Brien said it is very significant that at the end of the year, the European Council spoke of providing a strong European perspective for the six Western Balkan countries, as well as Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. He adds that it offers an opportunity for these countries, reports Express.

So, what are we looking to do in the Western Balkans over the next year? And it's a very long and detailed agenda, so I'm going to try to get it out at some times”.

One of them, he says, is that the Western Balkans must be European, stable and secure, and that means above all else they need economic integration.

Ambassador O'Brien has also mentioned the removal of the population from the Western Balkans and the problem it causes.

The question in these countries is that a large part of their population is leaving, moving to Europe and elsewhere, and that means that people who remain and have even more difficulty creating the kind of economic opportunities that membership in Europe should bring to them. So we are greatly encouraged by the EU's renewed commitment to these countries' engagement. We strongly support Presidential Economic Growth Plan von der Leenen”, he said.

He explained further what that means.

So the process of membership in the European Union is a process of preparation not only for integration into the economic union, but also preparation for making political decisions alongside other member states. The growth plan focuses on that first component. It offers participation in key parts of the only market if countries make reforms that essentially allow them to have four EU freedoms: freedom of movement, freedom of capital, freedom of services, freedom of goods. And this is a critical step that opens each of these countries and, frankly, opens each of these societies to co-operation across borders within the Western Balkans, but also to engagement with the common European market. This goes beyond what any aid package can offer. It is a fundamental change in the way these countries engage with their neighbours and with Europe, and this change is tangible once every government undertakes reforms. So we will support the European Union's efforts to walk this reforming path and offer as soon as possible those benefits from access to the only” market, he has said.