Today, at the Prespa Dialogue Forum in Ohrid, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said that the European Union should lower the standards for the countries of the Western Balkans in order for them to join it more easily.
Milanovic asked the countries that have the highest standard in the EU to “slightly reduce their standards, not to signal permanent violations”.
The result of security concerns
Speaking about the status of Ukraine when it comes to approving the candidate status for the country’s entry into the EU, Milanovic also referred to BiH.
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– I am for that, but we must not forget about BiH. What prevents us from doing the same for BiH. Constant procrastination is destroying that country – said the Croatian president.
Milanovic is of the opinion that some countries, such as Germany, are blocking the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU.
– These are just a few countries that always have some of their very high criteria, which I appreciate. However, this is a really serious situation in which the states do not see any perspective – Milanović pointed out.
The Croatian president believes that the slow enlargement of the EU is the result of security concerns and that such views do not stem from economic reasons.
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As one of the security reasons, he pointed out the fact that Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo as an independent state.
He talked about BiH with the Turkish leadership
– I cannot imagine for various political, social, and historical reasons that Serbia recognizes Kosovo. Until that is done, the issue will not be resolved – Milanovic concluded.
He confirmed that he had discussed BiH with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, noting that the Turkish official may not know everything, “but he is Aristotle compared to others.”
Milanovic believes that Croatia should block Finland and Sweden’s application for NATO membership until the election law in BiH is changed, but that Croatia and Turkey do not have the same position on the issue of blocking those countries’ NATO membership because “Turkey is specifically against those states”, and the Croatian president sees no other way to resolve the issue of the election law in BiH.
The second Prespa Forum Dialogue is entitled “Shaping the Future of the Western Balkans in a Contemporary European Security Architecture”. The forum is attended by the foreign ministers of Turkey, Greece, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Slovakia, the prime ministers of Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro, and European Council President Charles Michel and Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement.
