Kurz: Berlin Process Summit Confirms EU Perspective for Western Balkans

Kurz: Austria Wants to Keep Western Balkans on European Path

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on July 5 that the Western Balkan states were Austria's next-door neighbors, making the region's stability and European future it's prime concern.

"The Western Balkans is a region in Austria's close neighborhood, which it is closely tied to in terms of people, economy, politics and culture. That's why we are keenly interested in the stability of the Western Balkans," Kurz was quoted as saying by Austria's APA agency ahead of a video summit with the Western Balkan leaders, taking place as part of the Berlin Process.

At the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Austrian Chancellor Kurz are attending the summit together with the leaders of the region's six countries, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia.

"Our goal is to confirm European perspective for all the Western Balkan states. The EU will be whole only when all the states of the region join it," Kurz said.