Italy: Because of the EU’s procrastination, the Western Balkans may turn towards Russia or China

On Tuesday, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed strong support for the applications of the countries of the Western Balkans to join the European Union, noting that otherwise the region could turn towards Russia or China.

Antonio Tajani made this statement during his visit to North Macedonia, as reported by the AP agency.

Tajani said that the EU should “extend a helping hand to those people who want to be with us, Europeans.”

“If we don’t do that, there will be someone else who wants to replace us; I mean Russia, China, and other parts of the world; I mean Turkey,” Tajani said.

The minister said that Italy “is working and will work to ensure that North Macedonia becomes an effective member of the European Union as soon as possible.”

North Macedonia and neighboring Albania have been candidates for EU membership since 2005. They began negotiations on membership with the European Union in 2022, a process expected to take years. Other Western Balkan countries seeking to join the EU are Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, and Kosovo.

Disputes with neighboring EU members are delaying North Macedonia’s accession talks. 2018 saw the resolution of a decade-long dispute with Greece over the use of the name Macedonia and the region’s ancient heritage.

But a new dispute arose with Bulgaria, also centered on Balkan history, language, and culture.

Under pressure from Bulgaria, the EU urged North Macedonia to amend its constitution to include a reference to the existence of an ethnic Bulgarian minority in order for the EU accession process to continue. In exchange, Bulgaria would withdraw its objections to North Macedonia’s accession.

The previous center-left government in Skopje agreed to constitutional changes but failed to secure the necessary majority in parliament. North Macedonia’s new conservative government strongly opposes the proposed changes and is doing everything possible to delay them.