European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said ahead of the EU-Western Balkans Summit on Wednesday that leaders will not only confirm, but make it very clear that we are committed to the full integration and membership of the Western Balkans within the European Union.
“Therefore, we have to take our responsibilities and our decisions that lead us to this, meaning the opening of the first intergovernmental conference with North Macedonia and Albania, opening negotiating clusters with Serbia, accelerating our work for Bosnia-Herzegovina to become a candidate-country and deliver visa liberalization to Kosovo,” Varhelyi told reporters at the summit doorstep.
Leaders will also focus on the economic recovery after the covid-crisis. “I am very pleased to see that the Economic and Investment Plan for the investment of one-third of the GDP of the Western Balkans, EUR 30 billion, has already started to be implemented, and this should give boost to accelerate the real integration – the integration of the societies and the economies of the Western Balkans into the European Union,” said Varhelyi.
Source: MIA
