Key issues in region need to be addressed

LJUBLJANA - A meeting of the Brdo Process, which brings together ministers of foreign affairs, including Serbian FM Ivica Dacic, started on Thursday in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia.

The meeting is organized by Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius, and the participants include foreign ministers of all countries in the region, with the exception of Croatian FM Vesna Pusic.

The most important thing is to encourage a friendly discussion about the future of Southeast Europe, primarily the Western Balkans, Slovenian President Borut Pahor said, urging the participants to bravely address the most difficult problems in the region.

Commenting on EU enlargement, Pahor noted that the focus should be on the political significance, rather than the technical aspect of the process. There is nothing wrong with the EU wanting to tend to its own needs first, but the aspirations of people in the Western Balkans to join the EU should not be ignored, he added.

The countries in the region should strive to resolve their bilateral issues before they escalate, stressed Pahor.

The participants of the Brdo Process Meeting include European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni and State Secretary in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs Markus Ederer. Also attending is Kosovo Minister of Foreign Affairs Hasim Taci, who shook hands with Dacic at a brief meeting.

Photo Tanjug Video, camera operator Zoran Stanic