The Bulgarian Minister of State for the Bulgarian European Presidency has declared that on May 17 the Western Balkans 6 (Albania, Montenegro. Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Kosovo) will present an action plan in Sofia that will reflect the accomplishments of each country and the requirements in will need to fulfill on the road toward EU integration.
Minister Lilyana Pavlova stated:
We are not in the such a position to nourish false expectations. We can work very hard with the Western Balkan countries for the European perspective, but we cannot work miracles, or decide on dates for membership or the opening and closing of chapter in the negotiations with the EU.
But the aim of Bulgaria to focus during its EU presidency on the further EU integration of the WB6 is not uncontroversial in the other EU countries.
For example, public opinion in the Netherlands has long been sceptic about further enlargement of the EU, and Dutch PM Mark Rutte has stated not to support an expansion of the EU with the WB6 countries in the near future. The Dutch government even voted against Schengen membership of Bulgaria in September 2017.
During the summit in Sofia, Germany and France are expected to present a new legal framework to reinforce the union between the 19 EU member states and the creation of a European Monetary Fund.
