Hedvig Morvai to Tanjug: Clear Perspective for the Region in the European Integration Process

  The process of European integration of the Western Balkans continues – as recently confirmed by high representatives of the European Union at the recent Vienna Summit. “The Summit talks focused on the European perspective of the region and the resolution of open bilateral issues impacting the European integration process”, noted Hedvig Morvai, Executive Director of the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB), in an interview with the Tanjug news agency. In the interview, Morvai emphasised the need for the active involvement of non-governmental organizations in the European integration process in the region: “The Summit in Vienna provided a unique opportunity for civil society representatives from the region to use the Western Balkans Civil Society Forum to highlight important issues for the region that were otherwise not on the Summit agenda. The issues of sustainability and employment, regional cooperation, as well as freedom of expression and freedom of media were opened. Thus we see the importance of civil society and why it is of the essence that civil society be granted a place and communications channels at such important events.” When German Chancellor Angela Merkel organised the Western Balkans Summit in Berlin last year, initiating this process, the main goal was to once again send the message that the future of the region is in the EU, said Morvai. She assessed that the continuation of the Berlin process at the Summit in Vienna strengthened this message. At the Vienna Summit, the parties also signed a Declaration on Bilateral Issues, as recommended by the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG). The Declaration was proposed within the policy brief “Removing Obstacles to EU Accession: Bilateral Disputes in the Western Balkans”, prepared by this advisory group, at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria. The original text of the interview with Hedvig Morvai is available on the website of the Tanjug news agency at: http://www.tanjug.rs/full-view.aspx?izb=196859.