IPSEs IN THE LAST 24H
  • Janet Yellen
    Janet Yellen “U.S. and European support for Ukraine has been essential for Ukraine's resistance to Russia's invasion. And let me be clear: It is also critical for the security of the American and European people. If we stand by as dictators violate territorial integrity and flout the international rules-based order, they have no reason to stop at their initial targets. They will keep going. The U.S. and Europe must show that Russia cannot outlast their resolve to defend a rules-based order that took them decades to shape. This includes the need to crack down on Russian sanctions evasion and provide Ukraine the funding to equip its military, fund critical government services and ultimately rebuild once the conflict ends. That's why I believe it's vital and urgent that we collectively find a way forward to unlock the value of Russian sovereign assets immobilized in our jurisdictions for the benefit of Ukraine. This will be a key topic of conversation during G7 meetings this week.” 4 hours ago
  • Antony Blinken
    Antony Blinken “We reject the prosecutor's equivalence of Israel with Hamas. It is shameful.” 4 hours ago
  • Joe Biden
    Joe Biden “The ICC prosecutor's application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. And let me be clear: Whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence - none - between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.” 4 hours ago
  • Volodymyr Zelenskiy
    Volodymyr Zelenskiy “Western allies are taking too long to make key decisions , opens new tabon military support for Ukraine. Every decision to which we, then later everyone together, comes to is late by around one year. Russians are using 300 planes on the territory of Ukraine. We need at least 120, 130 planes to resist in the sky. You can't provide that right now? OK ... returning to the planes that you have on the territory of neighbouring NATO countries: raise them up ... shoot down targets, protect civilians. Can they do this? I'm sure that yes. Is this an attack by NATO countries, involvement? No.” 4 hours ago
  • Balakrishnan Rajagopal
    Balakrishnan Rajagopal “On the request by the ICC Prosecutor for warrants: against Hamas, the charges of hostage taking and killing likely to stand but not others. Against Israeli leaders, all charges likely to stick. And missing charges include attacks against various civilian objects including homes!” 6 hours ago
  • Hadja Lahbib
    Hadja Lahbib “The request submitted by the Court's prosecutor, Karim Khan, for arrest warrants against both Hamas and Israeli officials is an important step in the investigation of the situation in Palestine. Belgium will continue to support the essential work of international justice to ensure that those responsible for all crimes are held accountable.” 6 hours ago
  • Bezalel Smotrich
    Bezalel Smotrich “We haven't seen such a show of hypocrisy and hatred of Jews like that of the Hague Tribunal since Nazi propaganda.” 6 hours ago
  • Benny Gantz
    Benny Gantz “Drawing parallels between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself from despicable terror to leaders of a blood-thirsty terror organisation [Hamas] is a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy.” 6 hours ago
  • Geoffrey Nice
    Geoffrey Nice “I'm pleased to see that the law is now occupying the place it should. Until now, politics has been suspected of holding back the application of the law and in a way that's been very unsatisfactory - now the law is saying it's going to play its part, so that's a good thing. Don't prejudge the issue, it's an application for arrest warrants by Mr Khan in respect to people on both sides and we wait for the judges decision whether to confirm or not.” 6 hours ago
  • Sami Abu Zuhri
    Sami Abu Zuhri “The decision by the ICC prosecutor to seek arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders equates the victim with the executioner. the ICC decision gives encouragement to Israel to continue its war of extermination in Gaza.” 6 hours ago
  • James Bays
    James Bays “The ICC deals with only serious crimes but when you hear what is detailed on both sides, it really is sobering. On the Israeli side, he is naming the prime minister and the defence minister but says this was a state policy, this was official government policy to use starvation as a method of war. I think it is interesting that he's decided to make this public at this stage because the other important decision by Khan [Karim Khan] in the last couple of years is when he brought an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin and his children's commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, in March 2023. At that stage, there were arrest warrants. We're not at this stage; he's gone public saying there should be arrest warrants and he needs to go to the judges. Last time, he had already gone to the judges and it was made public that the judges had approved the recommendation. I can't tell you the reason why, but perhaps he's trying to force an end to the violence by speaking out as early as possible and trying to force efforts for a ceasefire. That seems to be a possibility - why he's decided to act this way.” 6 hours ago
View All IPSEs inserted in the Last 24h

EU membership for the countries of the Western Balkans

Page with all the IPSEs stored in the archive related to the Context EU membership for the countries of the Western Balkans.
The IPSEs are presented in chronological order based on when the IPSEs have been pronounced.

“We have realised that it is not enough to just wait for the Western Balkans to move closer to us. It is not enough to say that the door is open. We must also take responsibility, and support their path towards our union in any possible way... More progress has been achieved in just over a year than in over a decade. First, Bosnia and Herzegovina is now fully aligned with our foreign and security policy, which is crucial in these times of geopolitical turmoil. The country is showing that it can deliver on the membership criteria, and on its citizens' aspiration to be part of our family. The message coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina is clear. So our message must be clear too. The future of Bosnia and Herzegovina lies in our union.”

author
President of the European Commission
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“Bosnia also needs a strong reaffirmation of its European future - one that puts it clearly on a path towards EU membership. Since the country applied for EU membership in 2016, there has been no momentum-generating EU decision. Now is the time for the EU to grant Bosnia a candidate status. Failure to act early and decisively could invite pernicious actors to escalate their destabilising politics. If Bosnia is pushed over the edge, it will not be only its people that will suffer the consequences, but the whole of Europe.”

author
Associate professor at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Sarajevo
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“Germany, as one of the strongest countries of the EU, will continue to be an actor in the process of the Western Balkans' accession to the Union and that it will contribute to the enlargement. This is particularly true for Serbia. Regardless of the relationship of trust between Angela Merkel and Aleksandar Vučić, it is in Germany's interest to be supported and surrounded by friends in the EU member states. Germany has an interest for Serbia to make progress on this path through the opening of funds, but it is clear that criteria such as democracy and the rule of law will be met.”

author
Representative of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Serbia
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“Angela Merkel has shown great commitment to the region's [Western Balkans] progress in reforms and membership on the road to the EU. She has also paid great attention to civil society representatives.”

author
Executive Director of the Center for Cooperation and Development (CDI) in Tirana
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“On that occasion, Chancellor Merkel especially pointed out that Montenegro is the most advanced country - a candidate for membership in the European Union, emphasizing the importance of the idea of ​​a common regional economic market, which, according to her, can benefit all Western Balkan countries. At the working lunch, the need to continue working within the Berlin Process in the coming years, as one of the most important diplomatic initiatives since 2014, whose goal is the enlargement of the European Union, was additionally emphasized.”

author
Statement by the Government of Montenegro
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“We prepared for the first big wedding with all the decorations. The European Commission said that we are ready for the integration process … First wedding, the bride did not come; the second wedding, the bride did not come. We are not preparing any third wedding. We are hostages of EU nationalisms. The path of Western Balkan integration is dependent more and more on EU nationalisms. When I talk about EU nationalisms, I am talking about the nationalisms of powerful countries holding hostage leaders who are not yet nationalists. In the Balkans, when we copy, we go further than the original. The Bulgarian attitude is a result of what Bulgaria has learned within the EU from the great ones. Bulgaria has learned that it can use local politics to block others.”

author
Albanian Prime Minister
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“All this makes what happens with the enlargement depends on the internal politics of Member states. When conditionality is undermined, the credibility is undermined. Unfortunately, I am tempted to say that we are about to see more of the same. Change would also require the better toolkit when it comes to offering solutions to the detected problems.”

author
Senior Policy Analyst with the European Policy Centre and a member of BiEPAG
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“The EU cannot be the world leader without taking the Balkans seriously. And the EU is not being taken seriously. I am saying this with sadness as an American, because the EU is our ally. If the EU aspires for strategic autonomy from the US, it needs to solve the issue of Balkans first.”

author
Professor at the Johns Hopkins Institute
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“To be frank, the region is in a bad condition, the enlargement is in a bad condition, and the EU is in a bad condition. A lot of selfishness, a lot of egoism in the past years, as well as dangerous nationalism. For a country - Bulgaria - to jeopardize another country - this is selfish and dangerous.”

author
Slovenian politician and Member of the European Parliament
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“This is great timing for this topic and our gathering. However, we have to be honest and open – it is the worst time possible. For the second time, Bulgaria vetoed the accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania. It has been two decades since we started the talks with the EU. We do not know whether to expect it anymore. If the EU cannot make a difference in the region, which is not even its backyard, but its courtyard, it is telling about the problem the EU faces. The long-term consequence will be the weakening of those who believe in the transformative process of the enlargement and in European values.”

author
Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration of North Macedonia
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“Enlargement can bring immense benefits both to the region [Western Balkan states] and to Europe as a whole, helping to secure a stable, prosperous and peaceful continent. Reforms still need to be completed in every single one of these countries.”

author
President of the European Parliament
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“Germany supports EU Presidency's objective to hold first accession conferences with both Albania and North Macedonia in June. Both countries have delivered on required reforms – now EU has to deliver, too. Further delay undermines EU credibility, stability in the region.”

author
Minister of State for Europe at the German Federal Foreign Office
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“If Plan A [EU membership for Balkan states] does not work, which lost credibility [for the EU], you have Plan B, the non-papers are on the table. Everyone is saying they don't agree with the papers but everyone who has been dealing with the Balkans knows that there is quite a number of people around these papers. It is not that Russia, Turkey and others are strong actors in the Balkans but if the EU becomes weaker, others can become stronger by definition without being particularly strong.”

author
Former UN Special Envoy to the Balkans
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“The idea of redrawing borders is not new. It has been here for many years but it was brought to the forefront now. I deeply disagree with these ideas. I consider them extremely dangerous and a war-provoking idea. Unfortunately, the vision of EU membership for the Western Balkans has become more blurred more distant and therefore also less motivated. When we created a void in the region, others are coming with other ideas. If we are not serious with Plan A [EU membership for Balkan states], people would come with a Plan B and this is exactly what this first paper is about.”

author
European Union's special envoy to Serbia-Kosovo talks
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“While it is uncertain that North Macedonia and Albania will progress this year, I would think the odds are good. After Bulgarian elections (scheduled for March) there will be a chance to find a face-saving way out for Bulgaria. However, if that opportunity is missed, the risk will be that the veto 'settles in' and becomes harder to challenge in the subsequent period.”

author
Professor at the University of Graz and member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG)
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“There are many internal issues, from battling the coronavirus pandemic, to rise of populism, to the rebellion of individual member states and to ultimately confusion about when the EU can join forces and think strategically about Europe as a whole. The EU accession process has become hostage to the crisis of individual states. EU does not have a mechanism to deal with internal issues, because the consensus of all 27 member states is needed for such decisions, such as confirming the negotiations framework for the two countries. So if any problem arises, there are no inside mechanisms, except diplomacy and background diplomacy, to unblock such problems. It also shows that the accession process itself is not separated from bilateral problems that maybe exist between two countries, and because not separated, that is one of the biggest issues. Any of these problems can affect and is affecting the EU’s accession process at any point for candidate countries.”

author
Senior Researcher and Head of Conflict and Security Cluster at the European Centre for Minority Issues
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“The delay with North Macedonia is rather frustrating, and that is understandable. We have seen that Kosovo and Albania are the highest supporters of the integration process, even after we disappointed them so many times. If you have a country that is committed, the EU should do the same. People in Kosovo are still waiting for visa liberalisation. The EU is not delivering.”

author
Member of European Parliament and shadow rapporteur for Serbia
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