Acting US Undersecretary of State for South Central Europe Gabriel Escobar has said the US has urged the European Union to speed up the enlargement process towards the Western Balkans, EUobserver reports
“To go back 20 years and see that there hasn’t been much progress on that front was a bit disappointing”, – Escobar told RFE/RL, referring to posts he held at the time in the context of the Balkan region.
“We would have liked to see faster integration”, – he added.
Gabriel Escobar stressed that both the EU and Western Balkan countries face challenges that need to be overcome to make integration a reality. Escobar expressed hope that American involvement “will help both sides get back on track”.