Babis: Serbia Should Have Joined Schengen Area Long Ago

Western Balkans (Photo: Nevena Zaric)

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said at the annual meeting of Czech ambassadors in Prague, on Aug. 24, that Serbia, together with other Western Balkan countries, should have become part of the Schengen area long ago, criticizing the European Union (EU) for discussing membership before addressing this simpler form of integration.

"The EU keeps talking about enlargement, but it does not talk about Schengen. I do not understand that. It should be much simpler. The Western Balkan countries, Serbia included, should have joined the Schengen area a long time ago," Babis said. "I always say that Europe is defended at sea," he added.

The Czech PM underlined that at European Council summits his EU counterparts were unable to explain to Western Balkan countries why they did not want to admit them into the European family. "I do hope that Montenegro will become the EU's 28th member in 2028. Montengro has very capable young politicians there, and the country is a NATO member," Babis said.

The Czech Republic supports the idea of expanding the enlargement process to the Western Balkans, trusting that Albania, too, deserves to join the EU in 2029, Babis said. He also recalled that while Angela Merkel was still Germany’s chancellor, the EU promised Macedonia that it could join once renamed, but failed to keep that promise.