Vlahutin: “EU has much to learn from Balkan”

“If Balkan was considered 25 years ago as the backyard of Europe, during the former Yugoslav wars, today it is clear that Europe has its attention on this region also as a possible entrance point of threats to the EU”, Vlahutin said.

Vlahutin said at the seminar against Violent Extremism that is being held in Tirana, that Wester Balkan has much to learn from the EU, same as the EU has to learn from this region.

“One of them is religious co-existence. I am not talking about tolerance but about real co-existence, and Western Balkan is special for this, Albania more special than others. Albanians are known for opening their doors to foreigners and protect them, as a matter of honor. Just to give you an example, Catholic families in Albania used to set a special set of food for their Muslim friends, so that it didn’t get mixed. Albania is a country where people don’t make distinction on how someone should be treated religion-wise. This is a tradition that needs to be defended and to be taken as an example”, Vlahutin said.

The seminar initiated by the EU aims to deepen the cooperation between regional countries in what is being considered as the most important challenge in the world today.

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