Chancellor Olaf Scholz today (02/11/2022) opened the Western Balkans Conference with a clear warning against any rapprochement with Russia and called on the countries of the region to “double down” their efforts to speed up their recognition as candidate countries for membership of the Union (EU).
At the opening of the plenary session, which was attended by the heads of state and government of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and North Macedonia, Scholz recalled that Russia’s “brutal aggression against Ukraine” brought about “the end of a long period of peace in Europe”. , Montenegro and Serbia.
The chancellor reminded that the accession of these countries to the EU means “their integration into this large market”, but that “corresponding efforts” must first be made, so that this is necessary.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel are taking part in the Balkans Conference, a forum established in 2014 at the invitation of then-Chancellor Angela Merkel.
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