In reaction to the European Commission’s announcement concerning the EU’s further enlargement, MEPs of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz said on Wednesday that accelerating the European integration of Western Balkan countries is a primary strategic interest of the EU and Hungary.
The EC announced earlier in the day that it proposed granting Bosnia and Herzegovina the status of a candidate to join the European Union, Olivér Várhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, told a press conference in Brussels. He said that the EC also pledged to accelerate the EU integration of the Western Balkan region on the whole. MEP Kinga Gál said in her statement that given the region’s increasing geopolitical importance, its accelerated EU integration could be an important step from an economic and strategic as well as from a defence and security point of view. MEP Andor Deli said that the EU integration of Western Balkan countries has “no alternative”. The EU can only be strong again if it integrates those countries, primarily Serbia which is a key country in the region, he added.