Brussels: War in Ukraine puts EU enlargement front and center

“The war in Ukraine has put EU enlargement front and center,” the official said.

“First, this means advancing with the accession process. By moving ahead with reforms notably those related to rule of law, justice reforms, and fighting corruption,” he said, adding that the integration process needs to be reinforced by offering concrete socio-economic benefits to the Western Balkans partners already during the accession negotiations, gradually integrating them into the EU's work, as they implement the EU acquis in each sector and by completing visa liberalization for the region.

It was described as urgent to make progress on bilateral and regional disputes, among others the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia through the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, and building on the political agreement of leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina a few weeks ago, in Brussels, to help the country advance on its EU path towards candidate status.

It was also said that the accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania need to start without delay – “this is the absolute top priority”.

“Work continues towards finding a mutually acceptable solution to the remaining bilateral issues between Bulgaria and North Macedonia with a sense of extreme urgency,” said the EU official.

At the meeting, the Western Balkans leaders discussed the European political community initiative to create a political platform where exchanges could be held by participants across the European continent as a complement to and not as an alternative to the enlargement process, he added.

“The EU will continue to provide support to the region, including to help it address the challenges arising from the war in Ukraine, for example by associating them to the EU’s food and energy security initiatives, supporting them to reinforce cybersecurity, address hybrid threats and disinformation,” the EU official said.

He noted that the EU's Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans will provide up to 30 billion euros of investments to help the region with economic recovery and convergence with the EU and to support strategic projects that improve connectivity and resilience of the region. The first package of 21 flagship projects, worth over 3 billion euros, was already launched earlier this year, he said.

The leaders expressed their support for the people of Ukraine who continue to fight for their freedom. EU has responded resolutely to Russia's invasion and appreciation was expressed to those partners that aligned with EU sanctions, the official said.

A meeting of EU and Western Balkans leaders was held Thursday in Brussels. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Ministers Edi Rama and Dimitar Kovacevski of Albania and North Macedonia held a joint media conference following the meeting while the EU leaders’ press conference was cancelled.