Junker: The Western Balkans must have a European perspective in order not to return to the '90s

The European Union must open a clear perspective of membership to the Western Balkans, otherwise there would be a danger that Europe would once again witness the "unfortunate events there from the 90s", European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned today in Sofia.

"I, therefore, would never want us to face such events," Junker said at a joint press conference with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov after the joint session of the European Commission and the Bulgarian government, which made the Bulgarian EU presidency official for the next six months.

Junker stated that he previously explained that "until the end of the mandate of the current European Commission, i.e. until January 1, 2020, it will not be possible for the EU to accept new members, since the conditions for that cannot be met", but he pointed out that "on to do that".

"During the work of the next European Commission and the European Parliament, we will be able to focus on this issue in a targeted manner," he added.

Juncker said that he will visit the countries of the Western Balkans to see what the expectations are in those countries.

He expressed satisfaction that Bulgaria, as the new chairman of the EU, has set the Western Balkans' accession to the Union as one of its priorities, and that the EU-Western Balkans summit will be held in Sofia on May 17.

"But it is extremely important that the Western Balkans see that a clear European perspective is open to it, because otherwise there is a great danger that in this complex area of ​​Europe we will once again witness the unfortunate events of the 90s," said the president of the European Commission.

The most important thing for the European Commission, said Junker, is to improve the transport and other connections of the EU with the Western Balkans and in the direction of Turkey.

"If we want the Western Balkan countries to be better interconnected, then there is no question of reducing the EU budget," said Junker.

He assessed that the EU budget must be increased from one to 1,1 percent of the Union's gross domestic income in order to achieve everything that the European Commission, European Parliament and EU members have set as goals in recent years.

Answering the questions of the journalists, the head of the European Commission explained that rapprochement between the EU and Turkey "cannot happen as long as the journalists are in Turkish prisons" and emphasized that Turkey has recently been "moving further and further away from the European Union" with its actions and policies.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Borisov said that Turkey is the EU's biggest neighbor and that it is important to maintain and operate the EU-Turkey agreement on stopping illegal immigration.