Wadephul: Berlin Process Catalyst for EU Accession of Western Balkans

EU-Western Balkans Summit (BETAPHOTO/European Council/Alexandros Michailidis)

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Oct. 9 that the Western Balkans were part of the European family, but that disbelief in the region that it would become a part of the European Union anytime soon was growing which posed a danger of the region “returning to the old days of hostilities and the rising influence of Russia and China.”

“The Western Balkans are part of the European family. This is why it is clear to us: we will cross the road to the EU that it has begun together with the six countries of the region,” Wadephul said ahead of a ministerial meeting on the Western Balkans at Hillsborough castle near Belfast, the German foreign ministry said.

In addition to the foreign ministers of the Western Balkan six, including Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, the meeting was attended by the ministers or senior officials of Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Greece, Bulgaria and others. The purpose of the two-day ministerial meeting, which is being held as part of the Berlin Process, is to prepare for a Western Balkans leaders’ summit in London on Oct. 22. The meeting began on Oct. 8 with a reception organized by the host, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Yvette Cooper.