The USA is increasing its engagement in the Western Balkans, Assistant State Secretary Wess Mitchell said during the Senate’s hearing on the US European policy, Serbian media reported.

Eduard Kukan, a Member of the European Parliament and in charge of its relations with Serbia, said today the French President’s statement that it was not a good time for the European Union’s enlargement was only one of the suggestions in talks about the bloc's future.

At summit with regional leaders, French president says thoughts of enlargement have ‘weakened Europe.’

EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia is a signal and a message there is a perspective for the Western Balkans, Centre of Foreign Policy Director Aleksandra Joksimovic told RTS.

The EastWest Institute, together with the National Committee on American Foreign Policy issued a report examining the need for immediate, decisive action by the United States and the European Union to address pressing issues and prevent potential conflict in the Western Balkans. The Western Balkans—Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, and Serbia—are once again an area of concern owing to deficient internal governance, economic challenges, intraregional ethnic frictions and external influences.

The forthcoming European Union Summit on Western Balkans in Sofia will be an incentive to linkage and enlargement, but the potential candidate countries still face a number of obstacles, a conference in Belgrade has been told on Monday.

The issue of enlargement was back on the EU’s agenda thanks to the Bulgarian presidency over the block, the country’s envoy to Belgrade Radko Vlajkov told the “EU Summit – Western Balkans: Where is the enlargement there?” conference.

The EFJ has launched a video campaign to raise awareness about the poor working conditions of journalists and media workers in the Western Balkans and Turkey.