Politics
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PHOTOS 01 Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission (EC). Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA 02 Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD. Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA 03 Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA 04 Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA
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the strength of U.S. extended deterrence commitments."
Western Balkans: EU Enlargement? In the concluding panel of the Bled Strategic Forum, the majority of the discussion focused on the future of the Western Balkans and how certain obstacles for EU integration or reform might be resolved in certain countries in the region. Key aspects of the debate included whether a long-term commitment to reform really exists or whether perhaps in cases such as that of Bosnia and Herzegovina where it is not that it does not want to reform but rather that it bears the consequences of its system which was set up by external forces. Nevertheless, there is a much stronger will to speed up the process from some of the EU candidate countries.
Ana Brnabić demonstrated Serbia’s dedication to European values during the Leader’s Panel the first day and met with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Hoyt Yee, where they "discussed the European path of Serbia and agreed that the European integration of the entire region is a key element of regional stability and development." In the concluding panel, Yee went on to state that there is a special need to identify the crises in the Western Balkans before they take place, rather than dealing with them once they are occurring. Nikola Dimitrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia, confirmed that Macedonia is well ahead of where it had been a few months ago following its parliamentary crisis. When questioning how the future relationship between Russia and Serbia may look, Aleksey Yurievich Meshkov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation,
replied that Russia also has "excellent relations with Slovenia." He stated that a stable Europe is in Russia’s interest for a predictability in supplies and trade. With the closure of TTIP and CETA negotiations with the US and Canada, the dedication of EU Member States to free trade can no longer be taken for granted - it has become clear that while some countries seek full implementation of the single market, others have indicated more protectionist tendencies and delayed their efforts to advocate for open societies, including restrictions imposed on the free movement of persons within the Schengen zone.
Autumn Edition 2017 | The Slovenian Times
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