Hungary: Serbia key country in EU's W.Balkans enlargement

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - The European Union needs to enlarge to the countries of the Western Balkans, and Serbia is a key country in that process, said the foreign minister of neighboring Hungary on Friday.

Peter Szijjarto's remarks came at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kranj, Slovenia – which holds the rotating EU presidency ­­– and echo previous remarks by Hungarian officials.

Szijjarto also called on Brussels to be more decisive in its enlargement process, adding that it was regrettable that the EU has not made more progress with that process.

"We lost Great Britain, and we have been unable to make progress with the Western Balkans. That is both a pity and a problem,” he said.

Hungary and all the other countries of the Visegrad Group (the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia) also welcome the "Open Balkans" or "mini Schengen" initiative – with regional freedom of movement as well as free movement of goods, capital, and services – currently backed by Serbia, Northern Macedonia, and Albania, he said.