Merkel Hails Balkans’ EU Progress in Dubrovnik

Merkel stressed that the countries of South-eastern Europe, SEE, have an ally in Germany as they continue on their path to membership of the European Union.

The Chancellor, widely seen as Europe’s most powerful leader, was attending the Brdo-Brijuni summit, which gathers political leaders from all the states of former Yugoslavia plus Albania.

“A lot more work has to be done, although progress exists,” Merkel said on Tuesday. “We’ll monitor their every step, because of the experience we have had and in order to resolve all issues before they join [the EU] and to avoid conflicts,” she added.

“The countries of the region that have gathered here are on the way to becoming EU members and we can say that all of them already completed a big part of the journey,” Merkel continued.

“The news from this region are significantly different from 15 years ago,” she noted, referring to the fraught state of regional relations following the wars of the Nineties.

Talking further about the need for reconciliation, Merkel paid tribute to the marked improvement in Serbia-Kosovo relations, whose governments have been taking part in an EU-led dialogue. She spoke also of the need for an “EU way” in divided Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For his part, President Ivo Josipovic of Croatia stressed that both Croatia and Slovenia would be strong advocators for further EU enlargement in the SEE region.

“It is everyone’s wish to include the whole of the SEE in the EU, when all the conditions are met,” Josipovic said, adding that, “without reconciliation, there cannot be any economic and political progress”.

Only two of the seven states that have arisen from the former Yugoslavia have joined the EU so far –...