The Western Balkans Summit organized by The Economist brought together in Skopje on Thursday leaders from the countries in the region.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti also spoke about the recent intervention of the police in the country’s north as an operation aimed at tackling corruption and organized crime. According to him, the Western Balkans must confront the past and deal with the genocides that have taken place.
“Confrontation with the past is an element that Balkan countries need to face. In order to truly begin with having peace, we must solve the past. Let’s face its cleansing, such as ethnic cleansing, genocides”, Kurti said.
While the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev touched upon the dispute with neighbor Bulgaria and its veto against the country’s accession to the EU and stressed that a way out could be found after the elections in Sofia.
“Personally, I believe that a solution with Bulgaria will be possible by the end of the year. They understand that even when we talk to each other, actually even in press conferences they refer to the Macedonian language, the Macedonian people, although they do not officially recognize that”, noted Zaev.
In regards to Montenegro, its deputy premier Dritan Abazovic was critical toward EU leaders and their stances on the Western Balkans.
“Obviously, we do have problems among the countries in our regions. The rhetoric of EU leaders sometimes is not harmonious with those values. If we really want EU membership, we must act in harmony with European values”, said Abazovic.
The participants of the Summit said that they hope that the enlargement process is still “alive” and called on Brussels to deliver on its promises.
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