Kaja Kallas hosts Western Balkans leaders in New York

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas hosted an informal lunch in New York for leaders and representatives from the Western Balkans to discuss regional stability. Attendees included the Prime Ministers of Kosovo and North Macedonia, the President of Montenegro, and Foreign Ministers from Albania, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the meeting, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Foreign Minister Dino Konaković raised concerns regarding state-sponsored honors accorded in Serbia to Ratko Mladić, who was convicted of genocide in Srebrenica, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Konaković argued that the institutional glorification of convicted war criminals cannot be ignored within the context of the EU enlargement process. He emphasized that a credible accession path requires clear standards and a response when those standards are challenged.