Escobar: If the US had its way, the whole region would be in the EU by 2030

2023-06-11 13:37:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Escobar: If the US had its way, the whole region would be in the EU by 2030

Illustrative photo

The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, has stated that if the United States of America decides, the entire Western Balkans region will be in the EU by 2030.

In a conversation with the director of the Institute for Politics and Economics of Southeast Europe (IPESE) from Belgrade, Zoran Korac, Escobar confirmed that the United States of America will continue to work for the progress of the Western Balkans (WB) and emphasized that Washington's official sees this region as an area with great opportunities that should be fully integrated into the European Union.

He sees a very positive future for Serbia and for the region as a whole and wants Serbia to be more established "in the community of friends that the US has in Europe", and when it comes to relations between Belgrade and Pristina, Escobar emphasizes that it is necessary to start the process of implementing the Union of Serbian Municipalities without delay.

"We will remain very engaged in the Western Balkans. For the United States government, the Western Balkans remains an area of ??tremendous opportunity. The hallmark of the Western Balkans at the moment is real strong economic growth and strong economic potential," he said. Escobar and assessed that the region has the potential to be a leader in IT, transport, energy, infrastructure and tourism.

According to him, the region has excellent universities, a talented workforce and a relatively young workforce.

"So we will continue to invest in this and we hope that investing in the future of the region will help overcome some of the political problems," Escobar said.

He estimated that the Western Balkans, when fully integrated into Europe, will be the engine of economic prosperity, the engine of increasing the number of jobs.

"The Ohrid Agreement opened the door for a predictable relationship between Serbia and Kosovo"

Asked how he assesses the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, Escobar recalled that an agreement was reached in Ohrid, a legally binding agreement that opened the doors to a peaceful, constructive and predictable relationship between Serbia and Kosovo according to European rules.

"In the two months since we reached that agreement, we've had a lot of political crises, and I would say they were all predictable and avoidable. So we have to find a way to de-escalate tensions immediately and immediately bring the focus back to the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement", said Escobar.

He explained that for Serbia this means putting an end to the blocking of Kosovo's European and international integration, while for Kosovo it means the beginning of the implementation process of the Union of Serbian Municipalities.

"We have to work on both things immediately," Escobar emphasized.