European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy

EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn will arrive to Belgrade on Friday for a one-day visit.

This has been announced on his website, Tanjug reported on Tuesday.

The European Union (EU) should make official its position on Turkey's accession process, Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said on Friday from Tallinn, Esthonia, where he attended an informal meeting of European diplomatic chiefs, The Brussels Times writes.

"For us, it's very clear; the process is frozen," Reynders said.

The EU is preparing the Western Balkan countries for the day when they will become a part of the EU's single economic system, EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said in Trieste Wednesday, adding that an additional EUR 220 million had been secured for countries of the region, reported Tanjug. 

EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn should stop acting like a "colonial governor" and instead mind his own business by enhancing the enlargement processes of candidate countries, Turkish EU Minister Ömer Çelik has said in response to Hahn's remarks that prospected constitutional changes in Turkey would make the country's accession to EU "unrealistic."  

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn's support for the creation of a common market in the Western Balkans, raised during the recent summit of six leaders in Sarajevo, has drawn little enthusiasm in Kosovo and Albania.

We have to be aware that the situation in the Western Balkans is still fragile, but the EU leaders will support the region's path to the Union in March.

As the year is coming to a close, an interesting analysis recently published on the Politico website gives a vivid picture of the EU's strategic intention for further enlargement. That is a target that several countries, including Turkey, still aim to reach. 

BELGRADE - Former Enlargement Commissioner Štefan Füle told an audience on Wednesday that if the EU distances itself from the Western Balkans, other geopolitical players will immediately seize the opportunity to assert their influence over the region, EurActiv.com reports.

EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn said Monday he expects the EU to next week to reach agreement on the opening of new chapters in Serbia's accession negotiations.

Hahn, who is in charge of EU's neighborhood policy and enlargement negotiations, said he was greatly optimistic that new chapters can be opened.

For the first time, the European Commission has questioned continuing the negotiations with Turkey for full membership in the European Union.

Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations, presented to the foreign affairs commission of the European Parliament the reports on Turkey and the candidate states of the Western Balkans.