Minister Lipavský speaks at the European Forum in Wachau on support for the integration of the Western Balkan countries

"The EU needs more courage to look at the integration of the Western Balkan countries as an opportunity for the future. In the same way, the Western Balkan countries need more courage to complete all the reforms needed to join the EU," said Minister Lipavsky at the EU Enlargement: Keeping the Western Balkans on the Agenda panel.

The Wachau European Forum is one of the most important events on European and foreign policy in Austria. The theme of this year's 27th edition is "Building a Resilient, Green and Competitive Europe". The Forum is attended by politicians, government officials, business representatives and the media.

Today, Minister Lipavský, together with Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman, Austrian Minister Alexander Schallenberg and Slovak Minister Miroslav Wlachovský, signed a declaration highlighting the key character of the region for the EU, calling for acceleration of the accession process and opportunities to deepen the cooperation. Slovenia, Greece and Italy also joined the declaration.

"We need to be in constant contact with the Western Balkan countries, we need to talk to them. That is why we are going to Skopje in July with our colleagues from the Slavkov format. This will be our third joint trip, after we have been to Ukraine and Moldova," Lipavský added.

On the margins of the forum, the head of Czech diplomacy met with his Croatian counterpart, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman. They confirmed Czech and Croatian support for Ukraine, discussed the situation in the Western Balkans and briefly discussed the summer tourist season, where Croatia is one of the most popular destinations for Czech citizens this year again.