The ongoing crisis in Ukraine and the related flow of migrants to Europe creates different contexts, in which the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union should be prioritized, Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic said on Wednesday
ST.PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2022) The ongoing crisis in Ukraine and the related flow of migrants to Europe creates different contexts, in which the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union should be prioritized, Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic said on Wednesday.
"We will until the end support Ukraine. We have more than 10,000 refugees in our country, which is near to 2% of the population. If we do not use this opportunity, we will become a black hole and problematic region for the EU. The war creates different contexts and I agree with people that say that the Western Balkans should have a priority," Abazovic said at the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Tirana.
Montenegro has shared the burden of the "big migration crisis and war on the continent" and it is now the European Union's turn to lend a helping hand to the region, the Montenegrin prime minister added.
"The EU says that we need to show solidarity, we need to impose sanctions, we need to support Ukraine. And we agree and follow that. And in this context, we want to see that the door is more open for us, but I do not see that. This is the problem," Abazovic said.
The European Union has adhered to its policy of supporting the gradual integration of the Western Balkan states with the bloc for many years. In July 2013, Croatia became the first of the region's countries to join the union. Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania have been granted official candidate status. Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the partially-recognized Republic of Kosovo are still regarded only as potential candidates. The European Union demands that all the countries first undergo certain reforms to meet the bloc's standards.
