The Foreign Ministers of the European Union member states provided political support for deepening cooperation with the Western Balkan countries on external security and defense issues.
In the morning session of the ministerial meeting on May 11, the top diplomats of the bloc's member states met with their six counterparts from the Western Balkans. Kosovo was represented at the meeting by the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Glauk Konjufca.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, explained at the end of the meeting that Brussels is ready to support the countries of the region in their efforts to combat hybrid threats and disinformation, as well as through greater use of the European Peace Facility to strengthen the defense capacities of partners.
However, European ministers urged countries in the region to align with common values.
"The member states expressed the expectation that all countries will walk the European path and be fully harmonized with the common foreign and security policy, because in these geopolitical times in which we live, this is not just a formal fulfillment of obligations, but actually shows whether we see the world in the same way," Kallas declared.
She pointed out that not all countries in the region are fully aligned with the European Union's sanctions policy.
"We know very well that all the countries of the Western Balkans are different and have different views on certain issues, which is largely reflected in the harmonization with the common foreign and security policy," Kallas added.
The head of European diplomacy emphasized that the partnership develops in both directions, therefore further reforms, respect for the rule of law, as well as clear harmonization with the EU's foreign policy are expected from the countries of the region.
Of the countries in the region, Serbia, which aspires to become part of the EU, has refused to join the European bloc's sanctions against Russia due to the war in Ukraine, despite calls from Brussels. /REL/
