ZAGREB, 12 March 2022 - Western Balkan citizens have been participating in the Conference on the Future of Europe on Friday and Saturday, and European Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica said on Saturday that neither Europe nor the Conference could be complete without them.

The Executive Board of the Conference decided that during the Conference member states should work with Western Balkan countries, whose citizens could leave their proposals on a digital platform. Also, six Western Balkan countries were invited to participate in plenaries.

This was done, Šuica told Hina, because "Europe is not complete without the Western Balkans."

North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina responded to the invitation, she said, adding that their contribution is important, although less than that of the other countries "since their citizens could not participate in panels."

EU with Ukraine

Ukrainian citizens took part in a plenary in Strasbourg whereby, Šuica said, the EU wanted to send a strong message to Ukraine.

"The set of sanctions we adopted is unprecedented. Today there will be a fourth set, which means that the EU is doing everything within our remit and possibilities."

However, this is not just the about the EU because cooperation with the US, Japan, Canada and Australia is also important, Šuica said, adding that the EU and those partners are "aligning sanctions for Russia, which is the aggressor in Ukraine."

"We are also sending a message of solidarity and we are sure that Ukraine is part of the European Union, but reforms can't take place during a war. It would be illusory at this moment to say that they will become a member state, but we are sure that they belong to this part of the world, we are sure that they share our values."

Šuica went on to say that the Conference on the Future of Europe would end on 9 May, after which the proposals that have been made will be incorporated into clusters and submitted to the relevant institutions.

She said this was the first time that the Commission, the Council and the Parliament "are working together on such a big project with which we want to change the functioning of the EU for the better."

She said the Conference would continue in some form and that her proposal was to leave at least the digital platform as a permanent instrument.

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