Statement by High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini and Commissioner Johannes Hahn after a meeting with the leaders from the Western Balkans:
Tonight, we held a working session with the leaders of all six Western Balkans partners in the margins of 72nd UN General Assembly in New York to further advance the work on the European Union integration path of the whole region.
We reconfirmed the unequivocal support of the European Union for the enlargement perspective of the Western Balkans, as most recently expressed both at the level of the European Council as well as by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, in his annual State of the Union speech earlier this month. In line with this commitment, the European Union is stepping up its support to all partners towards achievable and realistic objectives, so that their progress will be irreversible by the end of our mandate.
We are pleased that the leaders – President Filip Vujanović of Montenegro, President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia, President of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dragan Čović, Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama and Prime Minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Zoran Zaev – confirmed their commitment to reinforced reform work, in particular on justice, rule of law and fundamental rights, as well as to regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations to maintain and build on this positive momentum.
