The German Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth urged the European Union to give positive signals to the Western Balkans in their integration process, otherwise powerful non-democratic actors will try to benefit from the EU absence: “If the EU leaves a vacuum in the Western Balkans, then other forces that do not share the EU’s democratic values will enter that vacuum for geostrategic reasons […] We are shooting ourselves in the knee,” Roth told to Handelsbalatt, adding that the credibility of the Union is in stake in this process.
For Roth, Western Balkans are of central strategic importance to the EU, and for the “immediate neighbourhood.” During the interview, the Minister showed his disappointment for the fact that during Germany’s presidency of the European Union, the Western Balkan countries did not make any relevant progress in the integration process. Roth is confident that the Union will undertake important steps during the Portuguese presidency towards the advancement of the integration of the Western Balkans, including the holding of the inter-governmental conferences with Albania and North Macedonia. The Minister linked also the emigration of young people from the Balkan with the lack of perspective, considering as quite important the rule of law and the fight against corruption as a mechanism to fight the emigration from WB countries.
