Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer will visit Kosovo this Friday to meet with the country’s heads of state.

Nehammer will visit three Western Balkan countries, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo.

During his visit to Serbia on Thursday, Nehammer reiterated the importance of EU integration and that the region belongs to the European Union, and called to accelerate the membership process into the Euro-Atlantic alliance.

“As the European Union, we must do everything to accelerate the accession process of the Western Balkans. Austria regards itself as a bridge in this process and it is very important to us to speed up this process”, said Nehammer in Serbia.

He declared that ties with Serbia are ‘of a crucial importance to his country’ and that Serbia is an ‘important geostrategic partner’, not only to Austria but to the EU as well.

“Our cooperation is important for Austria because we’ve been equally affected by the phenomenon of organized crime and illegal migration. It is an obligation and interest for an EU member state to give a clear signal that we must work together in finding a solution to these problems”, added the Austria Chancellor.

Nehammer also emphasized his great concern over Russia’s influence in the Western Balkans, as well as China’s interests in positioning itself in the region.