Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Viola von Cramon (Greens) commented on the results of the European Union (EU)summit and said that the decision not to grant candidate status to the countries of the Western Balkans was a catastrophic signal.
Speaking about the granting of candidate status to Moldova and Ukraine, Von Cramon stressed that the decision is “very cheap” and has no practical value.
“It is a cheap decision. It costs nothing to give countries candidate status in a geopolitically tense situation. Those with this candidate status can be in the waiting room forever. Candidate status is the least that EU leaders could do,” the MEP explained.
But, she pointed out that the summit was a complete failure for the countries of the Western Balkans.
“I must admit that I am terribly disappointed. They let the leaders of the countries travel to Brussels, and they did not give them anything, they did not deliver anything. Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) did not get candidate status, and Kosovo did not get visa liberalization, which is a four-year issue. This is a really catastrophic signal. Only one person is happy in this situation, and that person is sitting in the Kremlin,” Viola von Cramon told.
After that, she referred to the idea of the Open Balkans, which currently includes Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia.
“This is an initiative that is not based on principles or standards and criteria. If we continue with that, we would actually undermine the merit-based EU accession process,” she said.
Finally, Viola von Cramon also commented on Macron’s idea of establishing a new political community.
“If you really want to do something for the wider Europe, that’s ok, but I’ve heard that this format could be a constant waiting room for all those countries. It’s a serious concern. The least I can say is that the concept needs a clearer redefinition,” concluded Viola von Cramon, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
