Szijjártó's message: EU membership for Serbia as soon as possible

Szijjártó's message: EU membership for Serbia as soon as possible

"We are keeping our fingers crossed for the success of the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo and we believe that this situation can only be resolved through negotiations. However, we do not accept raising the issue of Kosovo as a condition for Serbia's European integration," said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Peter Szijjártó.

According to Kosovo Online, he promised that during the Hungarian presidency of the EU, in the second half of 2024, there will be greater progress on Serbia's path to the EU.

He stated that the EU is currently, unfortunately, in a very bad state.

"We, the Hungarians, are in favor of strengthening the EU. To the question of how we can strengthen the Union, we offer an answer, and that is enlargement. The more we are able to expand, the stronger we will be," Szijjártó is confident.

In this sense, he points out that Europe needs the Western Balkans to join as soon as possible.

"The most important country in the Western Balkans is Serbia. It is in the interest of Europe that Serbia joins as soon as possible. We cannot accept the behavior of Brussels and some Western countries towards Serbia, because we truly believe that the Union needs Western Balkan more than the region needs Union," Szijjártó said.

That is why he hopes that already this year, progress will be noted regarding the accession process of Serbia to the Union.

"If that doesn't happen, then next year, during Hungary's presidency, we will take huge steps. I can promise you that," Szijjártó pointed out.