Germany and Austria: Start negotiations with Albania

Karl Nehammer and Olaf Scholz  

 The threat of foreign influence has shifted the Western Balkans into the spotlight of European states. Germany and Austria agreed on the need for institutional reform of the Union, in order to be ready to accept new members. The Chancellors, Olaf Scholz, and Karl Nehammer stressed the importance of launching membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia and speeding up the integration process for other countries in the region.

"Any further delay makes the Western Balkans vulnerable and open to the influence of third parties. We need to push through institutional reforms in the EU to be ready for enlargement." The Western Balkans is an important geostrategic region of Austria. We have a long history and tradition with the countries of the Western Balkans, and we need to intensify what has been said so far: we should not just discuss the European perspective, but action," said Karl Nehammer.

The leaders of Germany and Austria fear that the Western Balkans could become an area of ​​influence for Russia and China unless rapid progress is made in their EU integration. Serbia and Montenegro are the two countries that have made the most progress on the road to the bloc, while Albania and North Macedonia have been standing at the door of the EU for years without being given the opportunity to open the first chapters of integration. It is currently Bulgaria's veto on Skopje that has blocked this process. Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina have not yet received candidate status and are considered far from membership.