Ekaterina Zaharieva at GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum: “Reforms along Road to EU Are Painful but Worthwhile”
07 June 2019 News
“Reforms along the road to full membership in the European Union are painful, but you will ultimately realise that they have been worthwhile,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva said, addressing the GLOBSEC 2019 Bratislava Forum in the capital of Slovakia.
Zaharieva was a speaker in a panel on “Western Balkans: Drifting away from Europe?” together with Montenegro’s President Milo Djukanović, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić and Malinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, Sarajevo. The discussion was moderated by the Financial Times South-East Europe correspondent Valerie Hopkins.
“Enlargement is a two-way street. Candidate countries must carry out the requisite reforms. But the European Union, too, should do better than organise a summit once every 15 years, like the one in Sofia during the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council,” Zaharieva said. “Even after the end of our Presidency, we continue to organise meetings and persuade the EU Member States that are sceptical of enlargement.”
“The European project will not be complete without the Western Balkans,” the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister stressed. She cited, as an example, Bulgaria during the first years of the transition and singled out the emigration of thousands of young people as the worst loss for her country. She emphasised that the retention of young people should be one of the most important policies in the Western Balkan countries.
The GLOBSEC Forum has been taking place in Bratislava since 2006. During that period, it has grown into one of the most authoritative venues worldwide connecting the realms of politics, academia, the non-governmental sector and business. This year, the discussions are grouped around five topical streams: Future of Europe; Defence and Security; Digital Future; Democracy and Disconnect; and Sustainability and Global Economy.
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