VIENNA – Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and European Affairs Minister Karoline Edtstadler have sent a “non-document” to the EU, in which they say the European integration of the Western Balkans should be accelerated .
According to FoNet, the “non-document” containing concrete proposals was addressed to the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and the Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, reports Kosovo Online. The “non-paper” concretizes the proposals presented in May last year.
Schallenberg and Edtstadler believe that the enlargement process, which is stagnating, must be accelerated and demand from the EU “a clear program for faster integration until 2024”.
Vienna demands an action plan that would include concrete steps for the gradual integration of the Western Balkan countries.
It is claimed that financial support should be more effective, through an improved system of incentives modeled on the reconstruction and resilience plan, and Austrian ministers also call for Western Balkan countries to be regularly invited to sessions of the Council of Europe. the EU and recall that Ukraine is regularly invited to participate in the Council of Foreign Ministers.
Schallenberg: It’s time to be bold on EU enlargement, we can’t wait
They also propose that informal sessions of the EU Council be held in the Western Balkans region and advocate for increased progressive integration, for example by further facilitating trade through customs cooperation, participating in the single euro payment area (SEPA) or the European Union. European Higher Education Network.
Schallenberg stressed that enlargement is the EU’s most powerful geostrategic instrument.
“Let’s use it.” We must not make the mistake of forgetting South East Europe due to a justified focus on the East. “Austria was and remains in favor of the gradual rapprochement of the Western Balkans with the EU,” Schallenberg said.
Minister Edstadler said the EU must now send a signal to the Western Balkans and encourage enlargement. “Concrete measures and a system of incentives for reforms are necessary, because otherwise we will lose the inhabitants of this region. We can’t waste any more time. The geopolitical reality requires acceleration and an innovative approach,” Edtstadler said.
