BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 16. The Western Balkans are essential for completeness of Europe, and therefore I believe it is in Europe's interest to include the Western Balkans in the European Union, the former Croatian President Ivo Josipović said during the XI Global Baku Forum, Trend reports.
"But there is one 'but'. This 'but', in my opinion, is related to the capabilities of the European Union on the one hand, as well as the capabilities of specific countries from the so-called Western Balkans on the other," he emphasized.
According to Ivo Josipovic, it is necessary to force the European Union not to be so unambiguous regarding the criteria.
"This means that political criteria and security criteria are in some opposition to Copenhagen criteria, but not only technically but also politically," he noted.
The former Croatian president mentioned that if you review the membership of some EU countries, you can see that they all fit the criteria.
"Secondly, the European Union does not have a coherent and unified security and foreign policy. This is the weakness of the European Union," he added.
To note, the XI Global Baku Forum is attended by representatives of many countries as well as prestigious international organizations: more than 350 guests from over 70 countries.
The forum, which will last until March 16, will host global discussions on the results of COP28 and preparations for COP29, will consider factors that pose threats to the new world order, as well as issues of security and prospects for peace, building stability in a fractured world, its impact on the global world, will discuss ways to address the challenges facing humanity, will touch upon conflicts and mega-threats shaking the world, including climate, food and nuclear security.
At the same time, there will be discussions on the role of military and economic alliances in global governance, regional perspectives, the European Union and its relations with its neighbors, youth policy, ways to build resilience to global challenges, inequality, natural resource scarcity and migration issues, artificial intelligence, and new security paradigms in the age of drones and cyberweapons.
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