The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, was in Bulgaria on Thursday 17 April to take part in the ‘EU Meets the Balkans’ forum, which brings together political and civil society stakeholders to discuss regional cooperation and the integration of the region into the EU.
Invited to take part in a round-table discussion on the subject of integration and enlargement, the Commissioner reiterated how crucial it was for political decisions to be coherent and supported. “We need forward-looking politicians who are capable of bringing about change. The biggest mistake is to implement reforms because the EU says so, not because people want them and because they will benefit them”, she insisted.
The EU’s recently re-launched policy of enlargement to include the six countries of the Western Balkans is portrayed as a “strategic and crucial decision for European security and the stability of the region”.
According to the Commissioner, the Union would gain both in terms of “competitiveness” and geopolitics by rapidly integrating the six candidate countries.
“The main message I want to send to the countries of the Balkans is this: it can be done, and it's worth it”, she said, pointing to recent progress, particularly the opening of a new cluster of chapters with Albania (see EUROPE 13621/4).
“The last six months have seen more progress than the last five years”, she declared, hoping to see the EU maintain the same pace until the end of the decade. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)