Croatian President Zoran Milanović said the European Union should grant Ukraine candidate status and start negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed an official application for his country to join the EU, as the country tries to ward off Russian’s aggression.
Milanović offered to join a coalition of EU leaders looking to help Ukraine gain membership status.
Furthermore, he said that everything must be done to stop the crisis from spreading to the Western Balkans. This includes granting membership status to Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, starting accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia, and accelerating Montenegro’s negotiation.
Milanović also stated that the EU should examine its relationship to Serbia after this latter refused continuously to impose sanctions on Russia. With Belarus, Serbia is only one of two countries in the continent that has not condemned or sanctioned Russia.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, European leaders have raised the alarm that the crisis may spread to the Western Balkans.
Currently, Albania and North Macedonia’s progression in the EU integration process have been stalled by Bulgaria over the latter’s cultural disagreements with North Macedonia.
Both Kosovo and BiH are potential candidates whose path to the EU has been hindered by their complicated relationship to Serbia.
