EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, stated the next two years will be good for enlargement, according to Austrian newspaper “Wiener Zeitung”.
“The European Commission sees new opportunities in the coming years to bring the Western Balkans closer to the EU”, said Hahn, adding that enthusiasm could bring disorder and that countries should commit themselves to further reforms.
The European Commissioner says that the chances of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are better than a year and a half ago, but pointed out that Balkan countries should not just wait because in the process of getting closer to the EU means implementation of reforms.
However, Hahn reiterates that Brussels has not decided which countries will be the first to join the EU and that in May next year, a major conference on the topic of EU enlargement with the Western Balkans could be held in Sofia.
“It will take several years to overcome the skeptical views on EU enlargement that dominate some of the Western countries”, said Hahn.
