Hungary wants to speed up EU enlargement in the Western Balkans

The European Union “has a historic responsibility to speed up enlargement” and integrate countries of the Western Balkans, an official of the ministry of EU affairs said on Friday.

State secretary Barna Pál Zsigmond noted that the European Commission has adopted the 2023 Enlargement Package, adding that this is the first time that the EC has approved a report regarding as many as ten countries.

The report gives a detailed assessment of the current state of enlargement as well as individual countries’ achievements in the accession process, he said.

Enlargement will not involve Ukraine “because, as stated by the EC, Ukraine has failed to fuflil the conditions for candidate status which was offered in advance to the country last summer,” he said.

“Hungary stands up for its interests, and it is clear that the integration of the Western Balkans must not wait,” he said. “A promise for an EU outlook was first offered to countries of the Western Balkans as many as twenty years ago,” he added.

Read also:

• Hungary wants the Western Balkans states to join the EU in the 2020s! – Read more HERE
• Two Hungarian soldiers lost their legs after Kosovo attack – Details in THIS article