EU seeks to expand to six Balkan states with new reforms, Commissioner says


Reuters | Updated: 05-02-2020 17:05 IST | Created: 05-02-2020 17:05 IST
EU seeks to expand to six Balkan states with new reforms, Commissioner says

The European Union's goal remains to expand to the six Balkan countries of Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and North Macedonia, new EU enlargement commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said on Wednesday, after France vetoed membership bids in 2019. Unveiling a new methodology at Paris' request to admit new members, Varhelyi said enlargement was "geo-strategic", a reference to a view in the EU that the bloc cannot stem its waning global influence without stability in the Balkans.

"We continue to have full enlargement a goal," Varhelyi told a news conference after publishing the reforms, which were reported by Reuters on Tuesday.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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