Germany to host Balkan leaders with EU enlargement, energy on agenda
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- 03 Nov 2022
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European Union heavyweight Germany will host a summit of Balkan leaders Thursday, as part of Berlin's plans to speed up the region's integration into the 27-nation bloc.
Leaders of six western Balkan countries will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Berlin to discuss the EU enlargement process, regional cooperation, and energy security.
"The region's integration into the EU has gained more urgency after (the start of) Russia's war on Ukraine," a senior German diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
He added that Scholz was committed to speeding up the EU accession of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania.
"Russia's strategy has been to manipulate the rifts in the western Balkans. We would like to counter this. We would like to enhance cooperation among these countries. And we would like to bring them closer to the EU," the diplomat stressed.
Western Balkan countries have been seeking membership in the bloc for more than a decade and their leaders have repeatedly criticized their European counterparts for being reluctant to take in new members, blocking EU enlargement.
Serbia and Montenegro were granted EU candidate country status more than 10 years ago and have since continued negotiations to join the bloc.
The EU decided to start membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia in July, while Bosnia and Herzegovina is hoping to obtain EU candidate country status this December. For now, Kosovo is only considered a potential candidate to join the EU. Read More…
