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The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, has announced that during the French Presidency of the European Union he will organize a conference on the Western Balkans. He said this at a press conference, where he spoke at length about the priorities of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU starting on January 1 next year.
“Our closest neighborhood is the Western Balkans. In June we will organize a conference on the Western Balkans because the Balkans is more than a neighbor, it is in the heart of Europe. “It is enough to look at our map and history”, said Macron.
Macron added that the region is currently going through a phase of tension.
“History sometimes turns tragic. That is why today we have a special responsibility towards the Western Balkans. There we must implement the policy of new engagement, but also investment in order to favor the economic integration of the region, help exchange people, resolve minority issues and fight against influences and manipulations that are a consequence of the engagement of powers through the Balkans that want to “destabilize Europe,” said President Macron.
He added that political and economic engagement in the Western Balkans is a real agenda for European sovereignty, because, as stated, “we can not build Europe in peace for the next 50 years, if we leave the Western Balkans in the situation in which it is today.
“This means that we need to clarify the European perspective, invest in the region, in its unity and have a common ambition for the next decade,” Macron added.
This warning is encouraging as France in recent years has been among the skeptics towards the EU enlargement process.
At the request of France, the methodology of the EU accession negotiation process was changed.
France takes over the EU presidency from Slovenia on January 1 next year. Six months later, on July 1, 2022, France handed over the EU presidency to the Czech Republic.
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