European Union leaders gathered for the EU – Balkans summit in Slovenia refused the proposal from the host country to set 2030 as the year when all Balkan countries will be admitted to the EU.
This, and the expected watering down of the usual conclusions that declare the EU doors open to new members, spells a complete failure of the enlargement policy. One element of hope was Zoran Zaev’s meeting with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, mediated by French President Emmanuel Macron and outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But just before the meeting, Radev made a very hardline statement, detailing his demands from Zaev, that sunk all hopes for breakthrough.
The peoples of the Western Balkans expect that the EU declarations are turned into action. If the EU doesn’t act, disappointment in the region will be irreparable and enormous damage will be done to the European idea, Zaev said following his meetings in Slovenia.
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