The European Union needs to speed up the integration of the countries of the Western Balkans, EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues Miroslav Lajcak said on Monday.

He told reporters at a summit on democracy in the Southeastern Europe taking place in the Montenegrin coastal resort of Budva that the forming of a regional market needs to be faster.

According to him, the war in Ukraine has brought expansion of the EU back to the political agenda and added that this is an opportunity for the countries of the Western Balkans. He said the region is not alone. The EU is with you, helping you overcome the consequences of the war and we have a plan how to help the countries of the region.

“The region can’t wait, we know that,” he said adding that the only answer is speeding up integration.