EU leaders should not favor Ukraine over the Western Balkans when deciding whether to start accession talks next month.
This was stated by Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, reports the Financial Times.
According to him, it is necessary to secure Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the EU orbit in order to counter Russian influence. Strengthening stability in both regions – Eastern and South-Eastern Europe – is equally important.
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The minister believes that it would be a “geostrategic disaster” if the commission looked at the Western Balkans “under a magnifying glass and with rose-colored glasses on Ukraine.”
“You can’t have some groups in the fast lane and others in the service lane,” he added.
Asked whether Austria was considering vetoing the start of accession talks with Ukraine if Bosnia was not given the green light to negotiate, Schallenberg said discussions were “already moving in the right direction.”
“There will be very heated debates, and we want the signals to be equal in both directions for geostrategic reasons,” said the Austrian Foreign Minister.
Schallenberg is stated to be a strong proponent of gradual expansion, with candidate countries being integrated into sectoral programs and policies prior to full membership. According to him, the EU needs a different approach than during previous waves of enlargement in 2004, 2007 and 2013, when the question was binary: “to join or not to join.”
“If the old approach is maintained, Ukraine will probably never be part of it… to a certain extent,” Schallenberg said.
On November 8, EC President Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Commission recommends starting negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the European Union.
According to her, during her last visit to Kyiv, she was convinced that Ukraine had completed 90% of the appropriate steps to join the EU.
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