Busek: Whole Balkans in the EU, but no timeframe

Prishtina, 3 July 2004 – All countries of the South-eastern Europe should be accepted to the EU, without setting a timeframe of when they could do so, said the coordinator of the Stability Pact for South-eastern Europe Erhard Busek in an interview to the German newspaper “Die Welt”.

Otherwise if there is a lack of this perspective, there will also be a lack of progress in terms of reforms, and if we set up a date, then the reforms will be forgotten.

Romania through tremendous efforts will manage this by 2007, while there are many unclear things in Serbia and Montenegro and in Kosovo.

Anyway, we should all try to help integrating these countries in the EU, as it is not in our interest to have these countries unstable, said Busek in this interview.

ECIKS