STRASBOURG – There are “no fixed dates or firm deadlines” for EU accession of the Western Balkan countries, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg Tuesday.
“There will be no fast-tracking – we have put substance over speed,” he said.
He said his recent tour of the Western Balkans had been a “memorable trip for many reasons.”
“What struck me the most was the passion and conviction in the European Union. It is giving me a new sense of belief and hope that, if a region, a dramatic region like the Western Balkans, is so determined to reform from top to bottom in order to join our Union, then we must be a union worth being part of,” he said at a plenary session of the EP.
“There is a great deal of work to be done. All bilateral conflicts must be resolved and more unity is needed,” he said, urging further reforms in the region.