Schallenberg: Western Balkans’ EU Accession Important to Prevent Destabilization of the Region

NIKOLA SELAKOVIC, ALEXANDER SCHALLENBERG/BETAPHOTO/AMIR HAMZAGIC

Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs Alexander Schallenberg said during a June 13 visit to Belgrade that it’s important that the Western Balkans joined the European Union (EU), in order to protect the region from destabilization.

At a joint press conference after a meeting with his Serbian counterpart, Nikola Selakovic, the Austrian foreign minister said that the EU integration of the Western Balkans was of substantial and geostrategic importance for the Union, describing the accession process as “much too bureaucratic.”

Minister Schallenberg explained that Austria suggested that “step by step,” the EU should start treating the Western Balkans as member states. The minister said that the proposal had nothing to do with Russia’s attack against Ukraine, but that Austria responded to the need for EU accession to produce tangible results.

Minister Selakovic said that there’s no alternative to Serbia’s path to the EU, explaining that Serbia was committed to staying on the same path, but that it didn’t depend solely on Serbia.

When asked why Serbia had failed to join international sanctions against Russia, Selakovic said hat Serbia was under sanctions, and that “they won’t do any good to anyone.” The Serbian minister also said that Serbia can’t be expected to act against the state that respected its territorial integrity.