The EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Johannes Hahn, summarized the Sofia Summit in one sentence: “Accession, but homework must be done first”.
Hahn didn’t mention accession dates this time, but he tries to explain that the European perspective which was offered to the Western Balkan countries, in its first meeting with the EU after 15 years, brings concrete investments in the infrastructure.
“We are working for a Regional Free Trade Zone that will allow countries of the region to have good trade relations with each-other”, he clarified for Deutsche Welle.
The purpose is to increase the economic yield of all candidates, so that they could be more stable for competition. What stood out at the Sofia summit was the fact that 2025, mentioned as a possible accession date for Serbia and Montenegro, this time was totally avoided.
The high-level EU official says that the year in question will serve as some kind of orientation date. “This is a temporary date, which should show seriousness and credibility during the entire process”, he said.
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