Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview with the European edition of Politico on Friday that the European Union must integrate the six Western Balkan countries by 2033, with the first step in this direction being for Bulgaria to lift the blockade on accession talks with Belarus. Northern Macedonia at the bloc’s summit in two weeks.
According to the Prime Minister of our southern neighbor, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given a new sense of the urgency of the need to link Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Northern Macedonia, Bosnia and Kosovo to the 27-nation EU, in part to counter growing Russian and Chinese influence in the region. The relationship may include full membership or an alternative community.
In an article published before the Greek summit on the South East European Co-operation Process (SEECP), Mitsotakis said the EU must prove that “when it sets out a vision, it has the intention and capacity to make it happen”.
The vision of joining the EU for the region, he said, has become “blurred, fading in the eyes of frustrated and disillusioned citizens” as the EU’s enlargement process has stalled in recent years due to security, governance and migration concerns.
The EU-Western Balkans summit is scheduled for June 23rd.
“My message today is clear: In accordance with certain criteria, let us propose the integration of all the Western Balkans into the EU by 2033 – an ambitious but achievable timetable. This is long overdue, “Mitsotakis said. “The first step must be a decision in two weeks in Brussels to unblock the roads of northern Macedonia and Albania.”
Mitsotakis’ initiative highlights Greece’s efforts to bolster its role in the Balkans after emerging from a financial crisis that has tarnished its image, Reuters reported.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who begins a two-day tour of the Western Balkans on Friday, is also expected to travel to the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki for dinner with the 13 SEECP participants. He will be joined by European Council President Charles Michel.
–
