Southeastern Europe

The EU must keep its Thessaloniki promise to the Western Balkans.

Serbia's neighbours Montenegro, North Macedonia and Bulgaria closed their air space to his plane, Sergei Lavrov told a press conference in Moscow that it won't disrupt Russia's good relations with Belgrade.

Brijuni – The presidents of Slovenia, Croatia and Austria urged accelerating EU accession talks with Western Balkan countries and condemned the war in Ukraine, which they believe cannot be resolved diplomatically at the moment. At their annual meeting in Croatia, they also discussed NATO enlargement and Croatia’s eurozone and Schengen zone entry.

Nechamer points out that the Western Balkans is just as important geo-strategically, and he added that Macron's idea is not concrete yet.
"We need an intermediate step, which is something more than candidate status, and which essentially does not change anything, but provides an accession perspective," the Austrian Chancellor explained.

Cooperation Conflicts

The West Balkan countries' flags at a Western Balkan Conference in the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, April 29, 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/MIKA SCHMIDT / POOL

Vipava – President Borut Pahor assured his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić on Monday of Slovenia’s continued support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans. At the start of Vučić’s working visit to Slovenia, Pahor said that in order to ensure peace and stability, leaders in the region must be careful not to escalate the situation.

President Vucic addressed the public from Slovenia, thanking first his hosts for their hospitality, and then emphasizing that Pahor was right when he stated that responsibility is on everyone in the Western Balkans when it comes to peace and stability.

Foto: B92

Vui talked with Ambassador Hill about bilateral cooperation, global issues and the situation in the region.

Beyond strong words and wide-ranging sanctions against Russia, Europe must recommit itself to the 'Core Values' it has strayed from, in Ukraine, the Western Balkans and elsewhere.

Lisbon – President Borut Pahor was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Lisbon at a special ceremony on Tuesday. He was honoured for his efforts to promote dialogue and for his continued commitment to fundamental European values, the president’s office said.