Leaders of the European Union and the Western Balkans met today in Brussels for a summit where, through a final declaration, they agreed to accelerate the enlargement process and called on the countries in the region to resolve their disputes.
“The future of the Western Balkans is in our Union. We reconfirm once again our full and clear commitment to the perspective of the Western Balkans’ membership in the European Union. Enlargement is a geostrategic investment in peace, security, stability, and prosperity,” the declaration states.
The EU welcomes the determination of the Western Balkans’ partners to respect and commit to the core European values and principles, in line with international law and the renewed commitment to the primacy of democracy, fundamental rights, and the rule of law, the declaration further adds.
Speaking after the summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the Commission would continue with the gradual integration of the Western Balkans countries into the EU’s common market.
After arriving in Brussels for the EU-Western Balkans summit, President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, criticized the European Union for being “unfair” towards Kosovo in its policies, by not removing punitive measures against it and showing no willingness to consider its application for EU membership.
Osmani said that “it seems that there are tendencies in the EU from some member states to constantly condemn Kosovo.”
However, Ursula von der Leyen stated that the EU supports Kosovo, including the removal of sanctions and the initiation of procedures for granting candidate status, but this requires overcoming existing issues “because decisions in the EU are made by consensus.”
“We are ready to start the process, but we need an invitation to come forward with an opinion. We are working to get this, and we are ready. The same applies to the sanctions. We are absolutely ready to lift the sanctions, but here too we need unanimity from the member states, which we do not currently have, but we are working hard to achieve this because, in any case, it is important for Kosovo to move forward,” said von der Leyen, as reported by REL.
The countries of the Western Balkans were called upon to resolve disputes among themselves and with EU neighbors to accelerate the enlargement process.
In particular, Kosovo and Serbia were urged to make progress in normalizing relations between them by fulfilling the obligations arising from the dialogue facilitated by the EU.
Present at the summit from the Balkans were the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, the President of Montenegro, Jakov Millatović, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, and the Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željka Cvijanović.
In addition to the heads of state or government from EU member states, the meeting was attended by the President of the European Council, Antonia Costa, as the organizer of the meeting, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas.
