Five EU member states’ foreign ministers call for urgent debate on Western Balkans, mention visa liberalization for Kosovo

English

Gazeta Express

06/04/2022 14:34

The foreign ministers of Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic have asked the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to urgently put the Western Balkans on the agenda at the next meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, calling Balkans “a region of a particular importance,” Gazeta Express reports.

In their letter to Borrell, they said that given the war in Ukraine and the impact it could have on EU countries, the Foreign Affairs Council should discuss a strategy for the Western Balkans at their meeting in April. “Just a few weeks after our last discussion on the Western Balkans, the geopolitical situation has undergone a major shift due to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine,” the ministers wrote. “In this context, the Western Balkans is of particular importance given its key strategic position as a region surrounded by EU member states.” The ministers praised Borrell’s visit to Skopje, Tirana, and Sarajevo in March, saying that “the visit demonstrated the European bloc’s strong commitment to the Western Balkans.” “The EU must do its utmost to prevent the detrimental effects of the attack on Ukraine in the Western Balkans. It is even more urgent than ever to give a boost to the region’s EU integration process,” the letter said. Specifically, the ministers called for speeding up the visa liberalization process for Kosovo, launching membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, granting Bosnia and Herzegovina candidate status, and speeding up the negotiation process with Montenegro and Serbia. They also called for an increased practical cooperation with the Balkan states, as well as assistance to these countries to cope with the economic consequences caused by Russian aggression, in particular due to the raised prices of food and other products.