Szijjarto: EU should understand that there will be no security without Western Balkans

Photo: Tanjug/Sava Radovanovic

Brussels and every capital in Western Europe should understand that it will soon be difficult to talk about security in Europe without the integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union, Hungarian Foreign and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto said today on the occasion of the EU-Western Balkans summit.

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Szijjarto posted on Facebook that the decisions of the European Council made yesterday caused disappointment in several countries that aspire to join the EU, MTI reported.

He added that Hungary, as a neighbor of the countries of the Western Balkans, is "fully aware of the importance of the stability of that region" and that it would be "good to understand that in Western Europe as well," according to the Hungarian agency.

Szijjarto stated that he spoke on the phone with Christian Schmidt, the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as with Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Szijjarto, referring to political divisions in BiH, assessed that "there is one issue on which everyone has reached consensus, and that is the importance of European integration," MTI reports.

"It would be good if the EU would help" those in Bosnia and Herzegovina to "strengthen that consensus," said the Hungarian minister.

He also expressed regret that Georgia was not granted the status of a candidate for EU membership.

"We think that the country has implemented all the measures necessary for the candidacy. Georgia and its leaders are committed to joining, and we cannot understand why such a discouraging decision has been made," Szijjarto wrote on Facebook, adding that he would go to Georgia to "confirm support for integration of Georgian friends into the EU," MTI reported.

(Telegraf.rs)