B9 supporting ‘Open Doors’ to Western Balkans in NATO, says Hungarian president

Presidents of the Bucharest Nine group support the policy of “Open Doors” in NATO in terms of helping countries in the Western Balkans join the organisation, Hungarian President János Áder said on Friday.

Speaking after a meeting of the group in Warsaw, Áder said that

participants had unanimously agreed with plans of NATO’s expansion in the Western Balkan region.

Áder urged that the region should be integrated as soon as possible, and highlighted its significance for security. Integrating the region will “serve Europe’s peace, calm and security”, the president said, but added that “on the other hand, it is also a risk factor”. He said that in the enlargement process each applicant country’s meeting entry criteria would be assessed separately.

The B9 group consists of presidents of the Visegrad countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), the Baltic states, as well as Romania and Bulgaria.