The time has come for the EU member states to finally clear the air and give their support to the Western Balkans, including Serbia, in the integration process, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Bled on Monday.
Speaking at the annual Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia, the Hungarian minister underlined after his talks with the Serbian minister for European integration that the EU cannot be complete, stronger and more resistant to crises in the future if it cannot integrate the countries of the Western Balkans, and Serbia is clearly the key state in this region.
“I think it is time for our friends in Western Europe and Northern Europe to realize that without a stable Serbia, the stability of the Western Balkans will be much more difficult, if not impossible, to ensure,” he warned.
He stressed that Hungary and Serbia are strategic allies, and therefore Hungary is constantly supporting its neighboring country in the accession process. Szijjártó said it was a very important objective to open the third group of accession chapters with Belgrade during the Hungarian EU presidency.
“It has been 15 years now that Serbia has been taking great steps forward in terms of EU integration. Unfortunately, these steps are not always sufficiently appreciated by the Western and Northern European states,” he said.
In her keynote speech at the same forum, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “Enlargement is an investment in our collective strength and security,” emphasizing the critical importance of integrating the Western Balkans into the EU, as “a larger European Union gives us a strong voice in the world.”
However, she stopped short of making any more tangible commitment.
