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The expansion of the European Union is an investment in our collective strength and security, stressed the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) in Slovenia. She believes that work in this field needs to be accelerated, therefore in the next mandate of the commission, she will appoint a European Commissioner who will be solely responsible for expansion.
“Expansion is an investment in our collective strength and security. In other words: We want a strong, competitive, and secure Europe. Therefore, the EU must include both the Western Balkans, as well as Ukraine and Moldova, and all those whose actions are in line with their European aspirations,” said von der Leyen in the opening address at the 19th BSF.
Therefore, the European Commission, also in light of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, gave new impetus to expansion in the first mandate under her leadership, she added. According to her, the EU’s six-billion-euro plan for economic growth in the Western Balkans, which was initiated a year ago, is already showing its first results.
The President of the Commission wants to accelerate the work even further. In the next commission, she intends to appoint a European Commissioner who will deal exclusively with expansion, she said. In the outgoing mandate, Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi is responsible for expansion and neighborhood policy.
In Bled, in northwestern Slovenia, a two-day international forum titled “World of Parallel Realities” started today, which is supposed to reflect the need for building bridges to overcome divisions. In this spirit, the thematic focus of the 19th forum, which is considered the largest event of Slovenian foreign policy, will be a call for cooperation for the common good. (2nd September)