The European Union wants all Western Balkans partners be included in regional initiatives.
An EU spokesperson told Gazeta Express that regional cooperation is an essential element of the European perspective of the Western Balkans and an integral part of the six Stabilisation and Association Agreements. “It is important that regional initiatives include all partners in the Western Balkans and are based on EU rules, building on commitments previously taken. The Leaders have now an excellent opportunity to develop an ambitious agenda of regional economic integration for the future, in view of the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Zagreb and during the chairmanship of the WB6 process by Bulgaria and North Macedonia in 2020,” an EU spokesperson told Gazeta Express in a written statement.
Asked why the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, has not attended a meeting of the regional countries held on 20-21 December in Tirana, Albania, the EU spokesperson said: “The European Union was represented at the Summit on 20-21 December in Tirana by the Director for the Western Balkans of the European Commission Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations. We always follow closely the Western Balkans Summits as well as developments concerning regional initiatives in the Western Balkans.” Among other things the EU spokesperson has announced that Borrell is expected to visit Serbia and Kosovo, considering that the Western Balkans will be one of the priorities during his mandate. “High Representative / Vice-President Josep Borrell has made it very clear that the Western Balkans are one of his priorities for his mandate. He has met with the Foreign Ministers of North Macedonia and of Albania already in the first week of his mandate and intends to travel to Serbia and Kosovo in the coming weeks,” a spokesperson to the EU High Representative Borrell said. The EU remains the most important donor and political and commercial partner to the Western Balkans. “The EU dedicated in 2019 €1.2 billion of pre-accession funds (IPA) to support investments and implementation of reforms in the Western Balkan partners and to foster regional cooperation for the benefit of all the citizens of the region,” the EU spokesperson said in a statement. Further the EU spokesperson explains that for 2020, the EU expect to mobilise further 1.3 billion more to support our partners in the Western Balkans. “The EU will continue to support initiatives that bring tangible benefits to the citizens and move the region closer to the EU,” an EU spokesperson concluded. /GazetaExpress/
