Western Balkans in EU? Not before 2019 – Juncker

The conditions for Western Balkan countries to join the EU membership will not be met before the end of the mandate of the current European Commission (EC). EC President Jean-Claude Juncker said this on Wednesday, during his “state of the union” address at the European Parliament. Beta is reporting that Juncker “stressed the EU will have more than 27 member states in the coming years”. But, he said, “the conditions for the entry of a new member from the Western Balkans into the EU will not be fulfilled before the end of the mandate of the current European Commission” – in 2019. “And each time for each new member state, the rule of law will have to be fully established and the fundamental values ​​of the EU respected”, Junkcer pointed out, adding that this was “an absolute priority”. He made it clear that “this excludes Turkey’s entry into the EU for the time being”. So there could be a chance for Serbia to join the EU, but not before 2019.