German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Western Balkan governments to press ahead with EU-required reforms as he warned against violence at protests during a regional summit in Montenegro.
In opening remarks in Budva on Thursday, Merz said demonstrations in the EU and Western Balkans reinforced the case for continuing enlargement and ensuring citizens benefit from it. He reaffirmed Germany’s support for the six countries’ membership bids, while saying their governments needed the political will to carry out required reforms.
Merz said violence had no place in democracies. “Violence must never be an option by either side,” he said. He said increasingly polarized societies and divisive speech stand in the way of a Europe that is safer, freer and more prosperous.
Germany established the Berlin Process in 2014. It gives EU partners a forum to work with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro, as well as North Macedonia and Serbia, on closer regional and economic ties as they seek EU membership.
In Albania, Prime Minister Edi Rama said he remained willing to meet protesters while excluding people involved in violence, a position EconoTimes covered as demonstrations continued.
