Integrate Western Balkans before their EU accession

“The integration of the Western Balkans is extremely important for the whole European Union. It is mutually beneficial," said EPP Group MEP Andrey Kovatchev, who is in charge of Enlargement and the Western Balkans.

Today, Kovatchev hosted the EPP Group conference on the Western Balkans, 'Integration before Accession', with participants including Lidija Bradara, President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tanja Miščević, Minister for European Integration of the Republic of Serbia and Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of the Republic of Kosovo.

“The citizens of the Western Balkans should feel the benefits of European integration now, even before the formal inclusion of these countries in the European Union. But each of these partners must go their own way and overcome the problems they have,” underlined Kovatchev.

The EPP Group wants to continue the EU enlargement of the Western Balkans to bring more stability to the region and to Europe. This is especially important in the light of the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, which are new motivations for an even more efficient and faster integration process. Europe also needs to do its own homework and not only demand reforms from candidate countries.