EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, speaking from Tirana, emphasized that Europe cannot be safe without the Western Balkans. “Your home is waiting for you, and you are part of Europe,” she stated at the EU Growth Plan Summit, which gathers leaders of the Western Balkans in Tirana.
Kos described the delays in the region’s integration process as a mistake of the past. She stressed that the EU must accelerate the opening of doors for aspiring countries and strengthen institutional cooperation.
“Now it is a matter we are working on, increasingly linked to security. Europe cannot be secure without the Western Balkans, and this is a mistake we made in the past that we need to correct. I am pleased that these meetings for the Growth Plan are increasingly opening doors—seven of them mentioned, and many more will follow. You are part of Europe, and we simply need to make this happen institutionally so that you can become EU member states,” Kos said.
