Hungary wants the Western Balkans states to join the EU in the 2020s!

The European Union should integrate the Western Balkans and drop its “pro-migration policies” as soon as possible to reinforce the bloc’s security, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on the sidelines of a meeting of his EU counterparts in Tirana on Friday.

Europe’s competitiveness could be prevented from “slipping back” through a “new momentum, new energy … clearly from the ambitious countries of the Western Balkans”, the foreign ministry quoted Szijjártó as saying. “It is no exaggeration to say that we, the European Union, need the Western Balkans more than the Western Balkans would need European Union membership,” he insisted. Referring to European Council President Charles Michel’s recent remarks, Szijjártó said it was shocking that the Western Balkans could not join the EU before 2030.

“Why would we need to wait another seven years … what more could we do that we could not achieve during years past?” Szijjártó asked, adding that “we think that we would have been late yesterday”. He said 2030 was “unacceptable” as the target date, especially in view of “other players of global politics also eyeing the region.” The EU could “clearly indicate” that the region’s place is in Europe through its integration, he added.