EU declaration calls for accelerated integration, implementation of agreements by Belgrade, Pristina

BRUSSELS - In a declaration adopted at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Brussels on Wednesday, the EU calls for accelerating the process of the Western Balkans' accession to the bloc, urging Belgrade and Pristina to fully implement past agreements, including an agreement on the path to normalisation of relations and its implementation annex, without further delays or preconditions.

The declaration, also agreed to by Serbia, calls for full alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy and notes that the EU was ready to "examine proposals made in the Growth Plan for enhancing economic integration of the Western Balkans with the EU."

"We continue to fully support the efforts of the EU High Representative and the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues.

We expect constructive engagement from the two Parties in good faith and in the spirit of compromise to make rapid progress in normalising their relations, which is critical for the security and stability of the whole region and for ensuring that the Parties can advance on their respective European paths," the declaration says.

"We urge the Parties to fully implement the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation and its Implementation Annex as well as all past Agreements, without any further delays or preconditions. We also expect the Parties to pursue sustained deescalation efforts in line with the EU’s requests and refrain from unilateral and uncoordinated actions that could lead to further tensions and violence, and rhetoric that is not conducive to normalisation of relations," it said.

"The increasingly complex geo-strategic environment, dominated by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and heavily marked by the crisis in the Middle East, continues to put European and global security at risk. It demonstrates the importance of unity and purpose within the European family and of the strategic partnership between the EU and the Western Balkans region bringing about ever closer ties and deeper cooperation with the EU, based on shared principles and values," the document also says.