The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, has accepted the call from nine EU foreign ministers to bring the Western Balkans back on the Union’s agenda, and a special discussion on the European perspective of the region is to be held in Luxembourg on April 19, Greek Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexandros Papaioannou told Thursday’s press briefing.
Borrell’s positive response comes following the letter dated March 5 and signed by nine EU member states including Austria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and the Czech Republic, MIA’s Athens correspondent reports.
“The main goal was to call for a strategic discussion at the level of EU foreign ministers on the Western Balkans. As the ministers have pointed out, this is due to seeing the importance of the region, adding that, unfortunately, since August 2019 the region has been left out from the discussions and it’s time to look at it strategically. In this context, the EU’s chief diplomat Borrell has accepted the proposal and a special discussion on the Western Balkans, on the European perspective of the Western Balkans is planned to take place at the next session of the EU Foreign Policy Council due in Luxembourg on April 19,” Papaioannou said in response to a question from MIA’s Athens correspondent.
As regards the three memoranda between Greece and North Macedonia that have been in the Greek Parliament for over six months, after they were submitted in mid-September and are yet to be ratified, and following reports in Greek media that they could be included on the agenda in late April, Papaioannou said it was an issue in the competence of the Greek legislative house.
