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Berlin Process summit in Tirana: President Novák urges Western Balkan countries to join the EU
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Hungary is a factor that cannot be ignored when it comes to European Union enlargement in the Western Balkans, which is why it is important for the country to be represented at the Berlin Process summit at the presidential level, President Katalin Novák said ahead of the summit in Tirana on Monday.
“Hungary can’t be ignored on EU enlargement in W Balkans”
“Today is also important because Hungary, too, has finally joined the Berlin Process in the form that we can be here and express Hungary’s position at the highest level, which is clearly in favour of enlargement in the Western Balkans,” Novák told public media.
“We will finally get a chance to say that the EU has failed to do its homework, because these countries should have joined the bloc a long time ago,” she added.
Hungary and the EU both need the Western Balkans region, just as they need stability in the area, without which neither can be secure, the president said.
Novák said another reason why she had accepted Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s invitation to the summit was to make clear that Hungary would do everything it can to ensure that the Western Balkan countries can join the EU as soon as possible. She added that Hungary would speed up this process when it holds the EU’s rotating presidency in the second half of next year.
Bit of background reading. Our Politicians are quite good at sidestepping processes and criteria (including but not limited to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_criteria) when they are out, posturing and grandstanding:
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/168/the-western-balkans
Quote: “Serbia’s future EU integration – like Kosovo’s – remains closely linked to the EU-facilitated high-level dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, which should lead to a legally binding comprehensive agreement on the normalization of their relation”
Serbia’s Mr. Vucic is refusing to sign the Ohrid agreement to normalize relations with Kosovo – so just talk, no action for the moment. Well, actually, there WAS action, albeit of the wrong kind (recent build up of Serbian troops on the Kosovo border). These Serbian troops did not stand down until the US threatened punitive action (where are our “Pro Peace!” Politicians when you need them )