"European prospects are of crucial importance for the region, just as the stability of this region is crucial for Europe. Those states belong in the European Union. It would be unfair to negotiate with Turkey and close the door to the Balkans," he said.
The ambassador of EU president Austria said that thinking about "old" and "new" EU member states would last for a whole generation, although the effects of the Union's enlargement to 10 new members in 2004 were positive and comparable to the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.