Belgium PM on Balkans visit ahead of EU presidency

TIRANA, Feb. 16 – Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme gave his support to Tirana’s bid to join the European Union on Tuesday, where he resumed a visit to the Balkans disrupted by Monday’s train disaster in Brussels.
“We think Albania’s adhesion to the EU is a key factor for stability in the Balkans,” he told a press conference after meeting Albanian counterpart Sali Berisha in Tirana ahead of Belgium taking over the EU’s rotating presidency in July.
Leterme also hailed Albania’s role in NATO with its 400 troops sent to different peacekeeping missions, a sign that the tiny Balkan country well deserved the alliance’s membership it received last year.
The Belgian premier also urged Tirana to further continue fulfilling the requirements toward the EU membership and also said that he was hopeful the country would likely get the visa-free regime.
Leterme offered his country’s assistance in Tirana’s integration process into the European Union.
Albania has applied for candidate status and is preparing answers to the Brussels questionnaire which it should complete in the next few months, before the bloc takes the answers into consideration.
Leterme canceled a trip to Kosovo Monday.
Later on Tuesday Leterme was due to visit Podgorica and meet Montenegrin officials.
On the last leg of his trip Leterme was scheduled to have talks in Belgrade with Serbian President Boris Tadic.
The new EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton is also due to visit the Balkans region this week. She was in Slovenia on Monday and is due to visit Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo as well.