Ursula von der Leyne, President of the European Commission has stated that the next six months are crucial for the ongoing development of relations between the EU and countries in the Western Balkans.
During the presentation of the Croatian Presidency of the Union to the European Parliament, von der Leyne announced that the EC could come up with a new enlargement methodology in the coming weeks.
“If we want a successful EU-Western Balkans summit in Zagreb then we must do our homework now. So in a few weeks we will present our new enlargement methodology to discuss the necessary modernization, and primarily to give our Western Balkan friends – Northern Macedonia and Albania, the prospect of starting accession negotiations, ” she said during her speech.
Croatia assumed the rotating presidency of the EU on 1 January 2020 and said that one of its primary focuses will be an enlargement in the Western Balkans.
As the only EU member in the region, Foreign Minister Grlic Radman stated that they will realistically support what is possible while noting that there is still a lot of work to be done.
