The European Union has been weakened by Brexit and may need to postpone plans for expansion into the Western Balkans, the President of Slovenia has warned.

Borut Pahor said the bloc could not hope to take on the likes of Serbia, Montenegro and Albania as new members in its current state.

Speaking in the presence of the European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, Mr Pahor said: "A weak EU will not be able to expand to the Western Balkans.”

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Wednesday that the European Union should clearly state what will happen with the Western Balkans.

Speaking after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Babis said Europe has to say where the continent will be defended from illegal migrations. “We appeal for Europe to define the Schengen area, to clearly say what will happen to the Western Balkans and where the European continent will be defended,” he told reporters after presenting his plan to combat illegal migrations.

The European Union and Western Balkans are partners in security and defence, European Union High Representative Federica Mogherini said in Vienna on Thursday prior to a meeting of EU Defence Ministers.

“We traditionally perceive the Western Balkans as an area of instability where the EU has been a security provider for many years, she said adding that “we are now moving into a stage in which we are partners in our common security and defence”.

Publication “Invisible Violence – Stories from Redaction” prepared by Croatian Association of Journalists was presented in Pristina, RTV KIM reports. According to the research, 70% of interviewed journalists said they would change the job or media outlet, listing low salaries (42%) and censorship within the media outlet (15%) as the main reasons.

The research on whether the journalists have adequate conditions to carry out their duties, lasted six months and was implemented in different media outlets in Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro.

Serbian media reported yesterday that Albania would be hosting an informal meeting of the heads of the Western Balkan governments, citing a statement of the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's cabinet.

The cabinet's statement reads that the topic of the meeting will be "regional economic integration", the development of a common vision for EU accession, implementation of the regional economic zone and other issues.

On International Youth Day, RYCO secretary general and his deputy wrote a letter to the youth of the Western Balkans.

Djuro Blanusa's and Fatos Mustafa's letter is also addressed to stakeholders involved in the youth related field.
The letter reads the following:

As prejudice and stereotyping continue to shape attitudes in the Western Balkans, the culture of separation does not serve the interests of youth, the region and European integration, we have to jointly work hard and enable the youth of the region to bring the much needed change.

Steve Bannon thinks that the Balkans could gain a much more important place on the world stage in the new geostrategic environment.

"Europe is very, very important to President Trump and obviously very important to the United States because you are essentially the mother-civilization that the new world came out of," Bannon, Donald Trump's former strategist, has been quoted as telling the Serb Republic's public broadcaster RTRS in an interview.

It could take the region 50 or 60 years to catch up with EU living standards, a report of the UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee has stated.

The report, whose excerpts are published by Blic in an article by Natasa Latkovic, was presented ahead of the recent Western Balkans summit in London, and the daily said its essence was that "the prospects of the six countries of the Western Balkans, when it comes to EU membership, are pretty glum.

The EU-Turkey accession negotiations should stop immediately, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has told Greek daily Kathimerini.

Previously, Kurz, whose country took over EU's rotating presidency on July 6, said he was in favor of admitting Balkan countries, and improving relations with Russia.

Providing honest prospects and a credible path to the EU for the countries of the Western Balkans will serve the bloc’s political, economic and security interests, Kurz stressed, having described the region as one of the priorities of Austria and its EU presidency.

The European Union and Serbia agreed on Monday that the Western Balkans Transport Community headquarters would be in Belgrade, the Beta news agency reported.

The block and Belgrade clinched the deal during the EU Summit on Western Balkans taking part in London in the presence of Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic.