Tirana, 26 June 2022 (MIA) – Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said during a visit to Austria that the EU needs the Balkans as much as the Balkans need the EU. He added that he feels sorry for the EU, because Bulgaria takes two NATO countries hostage in the middle of a heated war on the borders of Europe. “This seems to me the perfect place to discuss Europe and the Western Balkans. Today the EU needs the Balkans as much as the Balkans need the EU. Let me tell you that there’s no better place than Austria to recover from the depressing meetings in Brussels,” Rama said, thanking the Austrian Chancellor. “Many people commented on what I said at the press conference after the summit as great outrage, yes it may be, but it has nothing to do with us, but with the EU. After four hours there, we felt helpless in the face of a surreal situation where Bulgaria takes two NATO countries hostage in the middle of a heated war on the borders of Europe. Bulgaria lifted the veto, but this is not just about Bulgaria, there’s something deep inside that’;s lost and needs to be restored quickly. We hear that Putin might not be in good health, but it seems the EU isn’t in any better condition. I heard from a French friend that Putin had done the opposite of what he wanted by uniting Europe and NATO, but it looks like next winter won’t be easy, we should take nothing for granted,” said Rama. He sent a message to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people not to be too optimistic. “I hope Ukrainians don’t have high expectations on what they got from the EU, because as I said before, the candidate status is just an anti-depressant pill,” Rama said.