Armin Laschet Visiting Skopje

The Western Balkans is stuck in the European’s waiting room. The EU should admit it before Ukraine. This message was sent in Skopje on Wednesday by former CDU/CSU leader Armin Laschet.

According to him, Euro-scepticism is on the rise in his country, too, while it’s time for Brussels to set new priorities in order for the credibility of the whole process to be restored. Laschet’s stand is that a lot of people in EU countries are against new members and they yet need convincing. Regarding historical disputes, the German MP stated that solutions between Western Balkan countries had to be made on pragmatic grounds. He pointed to the example of Charlemagne, the emperor from the Middle Ages over whom Germany and France had a dispute for years.

However, upon a request from ex-Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov, he didn’t proceed, that is, he didn’t discuss the historical issues between Skopje and Sofia. Nonetheless, VMRO-DPMNE MP Antonio Milososki voiced a stand, saying Germany and France hadn’t had a dispute over what was written in the emperor’s ID or passport.