Enlargement of the European Union

BUDAPEST - No other region in Europe wants to join the EU more than the Western Balkans does, but it also expects "requited love" from the EU, Serbian FM Ivica Dacic said on Thursday after attending the Budapest Balkans Forum.

Speaking to reporters, Dacic thanked Hungary for supporting EU enlargement as well as Serbia's accession to the bloc.

BELGRADE - Serbia has succeeded in achieving good economic results and maintaining macroeconomic and fiscal stability despite a pandemic and a global energy crisis, State Secretary at the Finance Ministry Gojko Stanivukovic said on Thursday.

A row over whether to change the constitution to appease neighbouring Bulgaria and progress on the path to EU accession will set the tone for 2023 in North Macedonia, for both the government and its opponents.

Relative energy security alongside accession to the Eurozone and Schengen area are cause for cautious optimism in Croatia. But concerns remain on the political front.

DAVOS - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday in Davos he was certain Serbia would not join the EU soon and noted that he was slightly pessimistic about EU accession and that the EU's popularity had declined in the region.

Serbia, the largest EU candidate country from the Western Balkans, has backed away from aligning its foreign policy with that of the bloc and must strengthen its commitment to EU strategy and reforms, according to the enlargement report published by the European Commission.

Laid to Rest?

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrive for a family photo following an EU-Western Balkans leaders' meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 23 June 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/STEPHANIE LECOCQ

Undermined by years of mutual ignorance, disrespect and deceit, the Balkans' EU accession process has finally succumbed to both European and Balkan leaders' populist, short-sighted policies

"We want Serbia with us, but for that we need clear evidence that the country shares our values, such as the rule of law and democracy, and that it rejects the Russian invasion," Von der Leyen said in an interview with the Austrian daily Wiener Zeitung and Kleine Zeitung.
She underlined that the foreign policy commitment of the candidates is very important.

Luxembourg – Slovenia’s proposal that the EU should grant Bosnia-Herzegovina EU candidate status as soon as possible received a great deal of support and, above all, a great deal of understanding at today’s meeting of EU foreign ministers, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said after she outlined the proposal to her counterparts.