Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said it is “shameful” that European enlargement has stalled in the recent period.
Speaking in Podgorica on Wednesday, the foreign minister said European security and economic competitiveness would improve with the integration of the Western Balkans. At a joint press conference with Montenegrin counterpart Ranko Krivokapić, Minister Szijjártó said the EU faced serious economic and security challenges, noting the war in Ukraine and sanctions which have pushed up inflation, interest rates, and energy and commodity prices. In the current situation, the EU should be doing everything it can to reduce security risks and to maintain European economic competitiveness, he said. NATO, he said, already understood the security considerations and has approved the accession of three countries in the region. Now it was time for the EU to take the region with fast-growing economies seriously, he added. Citing the case of Montenegro, Minister Szijjártó noted that all thirty negotiating chapters had been opened, but not a single one had be concluded in the past five years. As a NATO member that uses the euro, and with a population of roughly 0.12 percent of the bloc’s population, admitting Montenegro “would be easy and risk-free”, he said.
Photo credit: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter