Belgium EU presidency says enlargement is a priority

TIRANA, June 28 – EU enlargement will be among the priorities of Belgium’s presidency of the 27-nation bloc, the Brussels government said as it took over the European Union presidency for the next six months.
Prime Minister Yves Leterme and Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere presented the program of the six-month presidency last week.
Leterme noted that his country is a fervent supporter of the EU integration process, while Vanackere stressed that each country must meet necessary criteria and implement required reforms before being invited to join the Union.
While acknowledging that Croatia is close to achieving its EU membership goal, they did not commit to an actual time frame. As for visa liberalization for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania, Vanackere said the issue could be discussed in September.
He predicted that the EU will probably review Serbia’s EU membership application around that same time.
Albania is expecting first the visa liberalization decision, likely by the end of this year, and then also a positive response on its candidacy status request Tirana has made earlier this year after fulfilling thousands of questions required by the bloc.