05.07.2021 – 20:51
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday reiterated the view that the future of the Western Balkan countries should be in the European Union and called for the process of enlargement of the European bloc to be accelerated.
“Our first priority is to accelerate our enlargement agenda throughout the region and to assist our partners in the Western Balkans to implement the necessary reforms to advance the European path,” von der Leyen said during a meeting of Western Balkan countries. , this meeting in the framework of the Berlin Process.
She said that in parallel, work will be done to bring the Western Balkans region on the path to “a digital and sustainable future. To achieve this, she said, the EU has made available 28 billion euros for infrastructure projects in Balkan countries.
Von der Leyen also expressed support for the functioning of the regional common market and in the future, to enable this region access to the EU single market.
The President of the European Commission also spoke about the Berlin Process, which she said is an incubator for many initiatives, which have become an integral part of EU policy in the Western Balkans region.
The Berlin Process, a diplomatic initiative of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, began in 2014, with the aim of supporting a peaceful, stable and democratic future of the Western Balkans, as well as improving regional co-operation and the region’s European integration.
Von der Leyen also spoke about the assistance that the European bloc is giving to the countries of the Western Balkans in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. She said that the decline of coronavirus infections in this region has made the countries of this part have no restrictions on travel to the EU. The President of the European Commission also said that EU funds continue to be available to the countries of the Western Balkans to overcome the consequences caused by the pandemic.
The European Commission, said Von der Leyen, welcomed the entry into force of the agreement on the abolition of roaming tariffs between the countries of the region and warned that the next step will be the inclusion of the region in the EU space without roaming tariffs. / Rel /
