Former Croatian president: Western Balkans must carry out reforms to become EU members

The countries of the Western Balkans can become members of the EU, but to do this they must carry out a number of reforms, said former President of Croatia Ivo Josipovic during a panel discussion at the Xl Global Baku Forum on the topic “Fixing the Fractured World,” Report informs.

“According to some criteria, the EU’s position on this issue is not entirely clear. There are security problems in our region (the Balkan Peninsula - ed.), which affects relations with the EU,” he noted.

The ex-president reminded that Türkiye began negotiations on accession to the EU at the same time as Croatia. However, Türkiye’s accession position is slightly more complicated than that of Croatia.

“The EU needs to understand that it can be much stronger with Türkiye than without it,” Josipovic added.