Balkan countries have priority over other nations in the process of joining the European Union, Vice Prime Minister and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in an interview with Corriere della Sera.
"We support Ukraine's accession to the EU, but the Balkans come first. We have made commitments to them, and they are our priority. On March 3, we will hold the ‘Friends of the Balkans' meeting in Rome. On April 1, we will visit Belgrade with the German Foreign Minister Wadenfels to show our attention to Serbia. We will help Ukraine, which still needs to follow its own path," he said.
It should be noted that in June 2022, the European Union granted candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, setting several strict conditions for the formal start of accession negotiations.
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 21, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić noted that the main debate within the EU will later focus on Ukraine's potential accession in 2027.
The five Western Balkan countries-Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia-hold official EU candidate status. Receiving candidate status is only the beginning of a lengthy process toward EU membership.
Türkiye has held candidate status since 1999, North Macedonia since 2005, Montenegro since 2010, and Serbia since 2012. The most recent country to join the EU was Croatia in 2013, after a ten-year accession process.