V4 FMs reiterate support for EU enlargement

The foreign ministers of the Visegrad Group (V4), namely, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, reiterated their support for the start of European Union (EU) accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia at a meeting here on Thursday.

"Continuing the integration of the Western Balkans and towards the EU is a long-term priority for the Visegrad Group," said Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek.

The Czech Republic, now holding the presidency of the V4, hosted the meeting of the V4 and Western Balkans.

"The Western Balkans is surrounded by member states of the European Union. It is in our geostrategic interest to get this region into the EU," said Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, at a press conference after the meeting.

On the fringes of the meeting, a cooperation memorandum between the Western Balkan Fund and the International Visegrad Fund was signed.