Skopje, 9 March 2023 (MIA) - It is high time for the EU to realize and confirm the open path for the Western Balkans towards EU membership, on which the region has been working hard for the past decades. 2030 is a realistic goal for the unification of the European continent by admitting the Balkans in the EU, OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said Thursday.

Osmani addressed a panel “The Western Balkans: New dynamism and old challenges – A view from Budapest” at the Budapest Balkans Forum, which was also attended by Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Olta Xhaçka, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania and Ivica Dačić, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia.

Osmani also underscored that this will be an encouragement for Ukraine, which, faced with direct military aggression, also defends their choice to respect European values, Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

On the margins of the Budapest Balkans Forum, Osmani held several meetings with his counterparts from the region.

Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs