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Austria is increasingly emerging as a vocal advocate of EU enlargement to the countries of the Western Balkans.
While recently reaffirming his support for Ukraine’s candidate status, as recommended by the European Commission, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer reiterated the idea that the country should not be treated differently by the Western Balkan countries regarding the conditions for launching negotiations.
In an interview with the German newspaper “Die Welt”, Nehammer stressed that the conditions required by the countries of the region, which have long sought rapprochement with the bloc, should also apply to Kiev.
“Regarding the status of the EU candidate country, I want to emphasize that there are clear, already established criteria that must be met without ‘if’ and without ‘but’. There should be no dual standards or first-hand and second-hand applicants. “We must ensure that the EU applies the same standards to Ukraine as to the countries of the Western Balkans.”said Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
In this respect, it would be unimaginable for me, Nehammer stressed, to give Ukraine candidate status and leave Bosnia-Herzegovina, for example, aside.
Nehammer added that Kiev should not be given false hopes, while reminding once again that the process of enlarging the bloc is long and very complex.
While Albania has been receiving this status for years, the opening of membership negotiations is dragging on, and after the obstacles raised by the Netherlands and France, the blockade has recently come from the Bulgarian veto on Northern Macedonia, which is holding Albania hostage as some countries prefer to see Tirana and Skopje advance together towards the EU.
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