The Balkan countries have priority over a number of other countries in the process of joining the European Union.
According to Report, this was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in an interview with Corriere della Sera.
‘We support Ukraine’s accession to the EU, but the Balkans come first. We have made commitments to them, and they are a priority for us. On 3 March, we will hold a meeting of the ’Friends of the Balkans” in Rome. On 1 April, we will visit Belgrade with German Foreign Minister Wadefu to show our support for Serbia. We will help Ukraine, which needs to follow its own path,” he said.
It should be recalled that in June 2022, the European Union granted Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidate countries for accession to the bloc, setting several strict conditions for the formal start of accession negotiations.
On the sidelines of the WEF in Davos on 21 January, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić noted that the main struggle within the EU will unfold around the possibility of Ukraine joining the union in 2027.
Five countries in the Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia have official candidate status for EU membership. Obtaining candidate status is only the beginning of a fairly long road to EU membership.
https://report.az/ru/drugie-strany/glava-mid-italii-balkany-dolzhny-vstupit-v-es-ranshe-ukrainy
