UN General Assembly
2014

We were recently informed that this beacon will go out of service in the next five years. If it does, there will be the danger of shipwreck. The region of South-Eastern Europe remains vulnerable. I want to send a message to partners in the European Union that by postponing its enlargement, the EU has been creating a vacuum in what has been historically the most porous geopolitical space. Sooner or later, that vacuum will be filled. That is why we need as soon as possible to integrate all the Balkan countries within the European Union. While the membership card is not that important for us, the necessary membership criteria and standards are important. In our case, the European Union’s beacon has grown dim because of its toleration of a devaluation of international law, human rights and the right to human dignity, which provide the essential fuel that powers the beacon. In losing its light, the European Union is losing what has been most valuable — its power to motivate States to strive for even higher values, standards and criteria.