Alexander Schallenberg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria, stressed the importance of continuing the EU enlargement project. He said, “The successful EU enlargement project must continue,” and pledged to make all possible efforts to quickly bring the Western Balkans region closer to EU membership.
The Austrian Foreign Minister’s statement came on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the accession of 10 Eastern European countries to the European Union in 2004, an enlargement that Minister Schallenberg described as “opening a new chapter in the unprecedented economic and humanitarian success story of European integration.”
The Austrian Foreign Minister considered the six Western Balkan countries to be “the missing pieces in the European mosaic,” and stressed that the European Union would not be complete without the Western Balkan countries, which he urged to integrate under the umbrella of the “Friends of the Western Balkans” initiative, which Austria launched as a tool to help countries. Western Balkans on rapid integration and gradual integration with the European Union.
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