site.btaVice President Iotova Describes EU-Western Balkans Summit as Both Success and Step Back from EU Enlargement Strategy

Prague, May 18 (BTA Special Correspondent Nelly Zheleva) - Speaking here on Friday, Vice President Iliana Iotova described the EU-Western Balkans Summit, held in Sofia Thursday, as a success, but also a step back from the EU enlargement strategy for the Western Balkans. She is in the Czech capital on the occasion of the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture and of Slav Letters.

The fact that the Summit was held in Sofia 15 years after the last such meeting in Thessaloniki is an indisputable success, Iotova said. It was not good, however, that the final document was signed only by the leaders of the Member States, and was somehow parenthetically supported by the remaining leaders from the Western Balkans, Iotova remarked.

She described as positive the talk about partnership in Europe. Meanwhile, she believes there was a step back from the EU strategy for political enlargement towards the Western Balkans, which was adopted a few months ago. In all statements made on Thursday and all the documents, the word enlargement was replaced by the word "partnership", Iotova observed, adding that there was lack of specificity. Iotova noted that she was expecting a more ambitious document, while the accompanying programme included specifically two infrastructure projects - the so called Blue Motorway and the one connecting Nis and Pristina. She described as negative the fact that Corridor VIII and other projects were not explicitly mentioned. In addition to that, the projects were not bound to the EU's next financial framework, which means that it will not include the amount needed for the Western Balkans, the Vice President said.

Iotova noted that the steps towards enlargement are also absent from the document.

According to her, the fact that the next meeting is scheduled for two years from now in Croatia is a good sign, because it means that the European institutions will be paying constant attention to the progress made by the Western Balkan countries on their path towards EU membership.

Meanwhile, Iotova expressed regret over the fact that the Summit in Sofia was overshadowed by the indirect exchange of remarks between EU leaders and US President Donald Trump.

Iliana Iotova met with the Vice President of the Czech Parliament's Chamber of Deputies, Jan Hamacek, with whom she discussed the Western Balkans and migration in Europe. Hamacek expressed satisfaction that the EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans is a priority, adding that it also a priority for his country.

Commenting the topic of migration, Iotova recalled that the Czech position about the quota-based distribution is reserved. "If we want the principle of solidarity to be a working principle, then the Dublin Regulation must be amended so that the burden on the external EU border countries is well-distributed among all EU countries," she noted.

Iotova also conferred with President of the Czech Senate, Milan Stech.