Austrian Foreign Minister at GLOBSEC 2022 Bratislava Forum: "Ukraine is Part of the European Family"
The GLOBSEC 2022 Bratislava Forum, which takes place this year from 2-4 June, was this year dominated by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Austria's Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg also participated and underlined Austria's positioning - closely at Ukraine's side.
Alexander Schallenberg during a panel discussion at GLOBSEC 2022 Bratislava Forum, / Picture: © BMEIA Bundesministerium für Europa, Integration und Äußeres / Gruber / Flickr Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
This year's GLOBSEC 2022 Bratislava Forum, which was attended by Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, was dominated by the Russian war of aggression.
At the three-day conference, government representatives, leading experts and representatives of civil society exchange views on current strategic challenges and future issues.
At a high-level panel discussion entitled "War in Ukraine - Europe's Destiny at Stake?", Austria's Foreign Minister had the opportunity to comment on current developments and took advantage of bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Kiril Petkov, the Foreign Minister of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Secretary for Relations with the Holy See States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher and the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič.
During the panel discussion "War in Ukraine - Europe's Destiny at Stake?", which was attended by the Foreign Minister of Slovakia, Ivan Korčok, and virtually joined by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg emphasized European unity in response to the Russian war of aggression.
This is because, in addition to six sanctions packages and increased efforts to diversify energy sources, the war of aggression against Ukraine has also brought significant momentum to the debate on the European security architecture.
Austria argued for a strong signal to Ukraine and the Western Balkan states that must go beyond existing EU rapprochement mechanisms.
"Ukraine is part of the European family. However, we cannot limit ourselves to symbolic politics. The previous models of EU enlargement - full membership, association agreements or the European Economic Community - are no longer sufficient," Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said.
Moreover, at GLOBSEC 2022, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg demanded that the EU does not neglect its immediate neighborhood in the Western Balkans.
There is a need for accession negotiations with Albania and Northern Macedonia, visa liberalization for Kosovo and candidate status for Bosnia and Herzewogina. Above all, closer ties to EU institutions and EU programs would bring tangible added value for people on the ground.
"We have a geopolitical responsibility for our entire neighborhood. This responsibility is not limited to one country," said Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg at GLOBSEC 2022 in Bratislava.
BMEIA Federal Ministry for Europe Integration and Foreign Affairs