Varhelyi: Berlin Process Demonstrates Eu’s Commitment to Western Balkans

Oliver Varhelyi (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said in Tirana, on Oct. 6, that the Berlin Process was an excellent platform for the European Union’s engagement in the Western Balkans, and that it demonstrated the Union’s commitment to the region.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the German and Albanian foreign ministers after a meeting within the Berlin Process, Varhelyi said that the Western Balkans had to be economically integrated with the EU before it joined the Union, Albania’s ABC News portal quoted the commissioner as saying.

“I believe that the Berlin Process was, and will be, the most reliable platform we can use to demonstrate our interest in the region. We are talking about large-scale political projects here, but also those that affect citizens' everyday lives, and how we are going to bring the EU to the Western Balkans,” Varhelyi said.

After a meeting between the foreign ministers of the Western Balkan Six and several EU states, held as part of preparations for the Berlin Process summit in Tirana, on Oct. 16, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that the Union wants to “march shoulder to shoulder with the Western Balkans” on its path to the Union. “Let’s march together on the path to the EU, it is time to fulfil the promises we made,” Baerbock said.