EU enlargement, the Balkans and Athens’s role in the face of Turkish influence – News – news
The Russian invasion of Ukraine obliges Brussels to see the enlargement of the EU with a different eye.
The President of the Council, Charles Michel, in their invitation to the forthcoming Summit on 23 and 24 June, made special reference to the issue of Europe’s security and stability, which will be the first item on the agenda.
Charles Michel calls on EU leaders to recognize the future of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia within the European Union, and calls on the Council to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova.
A development that automatically turns its eyes to the Western Balkans, with the accession process of Northern Macedonia and Albania that remains “frozen” to require specific moves in order to thaw.
As the EU has already begun to lose credibility among the citizens of these countries, they see the promises made to them not be used.
Charles Michel’s letter to EU leaders states, among other things, that “the Western Balkans are important for the EU and the EU is important for the Western Balkans”. And it notes that the EU must renew the enlargement process and promote the integration of its partners in the Western Balkans.
In this context, there will be a relevant meeting before the European Council.
The European course of the Western Balkans is high on the agenda of Athens, which believes that it can play its own role in the region.
The US has also renewed its interest in the Balkan countries, with an emphasis on keeping them away from other Russian influence.
For the countries of the Western Balkans, Greece can become a catalyst for development, as a country that belongs to the region, knows very well their geostrategic and geopolitical importance, is in the EU and embraces the concerns of Washington.
The issue of the Western Balkans was also discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, while it was also discussed at the General Affairs Council on Tuesday, which will prepare for the Summit.
It is clear to Athens that a clear message must be sent to the region regarding their European perspective and in the light of Ukraine’s European perspective.
The issue of the immediate start of the accession negotiations between Albania and Northern Macedonia is high on the agenda of Greek diplomacy, which considers that the momentum should be used.
For Athens, after all, the region of the Western Balkans is its immediate neighborhood and considers that the maintenance of the European perspective must remain alive in order to stop the Turkish influence and in addition to remove the destabilization of the region, which would have consequences for the Hellas.