The Visegrád Group stands by EU’s West Balkan enlargement
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The Visegrad Group (V4) supports European Union enlargement with the integration of the Western Balkan states, as well as efforts to strengthen the bloc’s common foreign and security policy, Zsolt Németh, (Fidesz) head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said on Thursday.
Speaking after a meeting of the foreign affairs committees of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, Németh told a press conference that the situation in the Western Balkans is a priority.
“Europe cannot be whole” without these countries joining the EU, he said.
Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the European Commission, has said the first states of the region will join the bloc in 2025, Németh noted. Hopefully, as many countries as possible will have fulfilled the preconditions of accession by then, he said. The V4 group is committed to the reunification of Europe, because that process has brought about their own accession to the EU and NATO, Németh said. Enlargement encompassing the Western Balkans also provides economic and security policy opportunities for the EU, and especially for central Europe, he said.