Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on Tuesday received European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos at the Government Office in Bratislava, where they discussed several issues, including the enlargement of the European Union to include countries of the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe.
"Slovakia supports the accession of countries such as Montenegro, Serbia and Albania to the Union if they meet the necessary conditions," Fico said. He also strongly criticised what he described as the EU's unfair approach towards Serbia, saying the country did not deserve such treatment.
Slovakia has long supported EU enlargement based on the fulfilment of the required criteria.
Fico and Kos also discussed the gradual integration of candidate countries into the EU internal market, which could bring benefits to citizens even before accession, such as inclusion in the EU roaming zone or the use of euro payments.
The discussion at the Government Office also covered preserving veto rights in policies defined by EU treaties, including the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
"For Slovakia, this is a matter of principle," Fico accentuated. In his view, abolishing veto rights in key EU matters would mark the beginning of the end of the Union.
Kos arrived in Slovakia for a ministerial meeting of the informal Friends of the Western Balkans group, hosted in Bratislava by Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD).
The Friends of the Western Balkans group, is comprised of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Croatia, Austria, Slovenia and Italy.
Representatives of the Western Balkans attending the meeting came from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia.
At a press conference with Kos, Blanar stated that the gradual integration process of the Western Balkan states into the European Union is vitally important, warning that the EU's credibility in the region would decline without tangible progress.
He added that participants at the meeting agreed that double standards could not be applied in the integration process, including in relation to Ukraine. He stressed the need to find ways to support Western Balkan countries that were promised EU membership around 20 years ago.
Kos claimed that the start of the new decade, the year 2030, will be a crucial milestone for enlargement.
"Several candidates have strong ambitions to conclude accession negotiations before then. At the beginning of the new decade in 2030, this will be the turning point for the European Union," she said, noting that Slovakia will hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU at that time.
"Enlargement is a merit-based process. Countries seeking accession need to deliver reforms, and this is important both for Slovakia and for the whole Commission. However, we know reforms take time, and in the current turbulent geopolitical environment we cannot afford to lose momentum," Kos said.
She added that new integration models and faster support mechanisms before full membership are needed.
Participants at the meeting also adopted the so-called Bratislava Declaration on the integration of Western Balkan states into the EU.
"The declaration states that after the launch of the integration process in Thessaloniki in 2003, we must continue and maintain a clear position on EU enlargement based on a results-based approach, while also using the instruments already available in the Western Balkan countries," Blanar said.
Source: TASR
