Juncker: No new members of EU in next 5 years

STRASBOURG - Future president of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker has stated in the European Parliament that no Western Balkan country will become a member of the EU in the next 5 years.

Juncker told the members of the parliament from the group of liberal and progressive parties he saw no country of the region ready to join the EU in that time.

The liberals criticised Juncker on Tuesday for his views on EU enlargement stated in his recently presented programme, where he says the EU must halt the enlargement until it can consolidate, and that he does not expect any new members during his 5-year term in office.

Juncker denied that he had called for a full stop of the enlargement process, but that he was merely being realistic and that there were clear requirements for getting the candidate status and accession.

The countries of the Western Balkans deserve a European future, as a guarantee that the recent conflicts will not be repeated, among other things, he stated.

It does not mean that the EU should promise those countries accession into the EU within 2-3 years, he added.

Juncker met separately in Strasbourg on Tuesday with parliament members from all the political groups, but only the meeting with the liberals was open to the public via a video link.

The former prime minister of Luxembourg, who won the nomination for future president of the European Commission with a lot of difficulty, has yet to gain support from the parliament, which will vote on the issue on July 16.

If most of the members vote for him, Juncker's 5-year term will start on November 1.

AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert