Morawiecki at Berlin Process meeting: Western Balkans are Europe's soft underbelly

Western Balkans leaders signed agreements on mutual recognition of identity cards, university degrees and professional qualifications at a summit in Berlin on Thursday (November 3).

This move towards closer integration aims to bring greater stability to a region that emerged from the break-up of Yugoslavia and the ethnic wars of the 1990s and is still wracked by tensions.

They also aim to bring Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania closer to their stated goal of joining the neighbouring European Union amid fears about the rising influence of Russia and China in the region.

Serbia in particular, which was bombed by NATO two decades ago, has long struggled to balance historically close ties with Russia against aspirations for economic and political integration with the West.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz received leaders of the six Balkan countries and the EU in Berlin on Thursday as a revival of the so-called "Berlin Process" that his predecessor Angela Merkel put in motion.

Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Mateusz Morawiecki said that the integration process was very important "because three out of six Western Balkan countries are NATO members". "And so we are extending the security zone."

Polish PM added that the integration of the region with the EU was "beneficial for Polish businesses and good for Polish economy".

Morawiecki also said that during the summit he had mainly spoken about the influence of Russian aggression against Ukraine on the energy crisis. "Today we are in a moment of deep interdependence between what is happening in the south of our continent, in the west, in the north, and what is taking place in the east," he said.

"Putin and Russia have started the war against Ukraine, but at the same time it is a war against Europe, against the EU. This huge inflation, this economic warfare, the attack on our energy systems, the propaganda attack ...- this Russian attack is very visible. You can't deny it. Those who deny it are grist to the mill for Russian propaganda," the prime minister said.

In this context he underscored the necessity to diversify gas supplies sources and the importance of Europe's energy independence from Russia.

"We see how important is support for Ukraine, but the kind of support which makes the whole European Union stronger, and makes Poland stronger," Morawiecki said. He added that said support "at the same time increases the level of security, increases chances of quick overcoming of this crisis". "Unfortunately, by quick here I mean months, quarters - it won't happen within weeks. That's because we know all too well how difficult is the situation in Ukraine, but it's crucial to display here in Berlin this big picture of Europe, the big picture of the European Union," said Poland's prime minister.

He underscored that Ukraine "today is fighting for freedom, but also for a better tomorrow for the whole European Union, including Poland".

"Western Balkans ... being a very important part of Europe, are Europe's soft underbelly," Polish PM said. "A series of today's talks confirmed that Poland had made the right decision a few years ago to participate, or shall we say to co-lead this whole integration process, and this has been acknowledged today."

"We have many friends today in the south of Europe, but this has also been acknowledged by our British, German and French partners, who were also present here," he added.

Asked about his take on Serbia's and Bosnia and Herzegovina's overtures for contacts with Russia, Morawiecki said that "nature abhors a vacuum, and as the integration process - because of the countries from Western Europe - is taking so long, this vacuum is being filled by countries such as Russia, China, but also Turkey and other Islamic sphere countries".

"And it is our European role to fill this vacuum as soon as possible, and as soon as possible invite these countries to European integration," he stressed.

According to Morawiecki, some countries, especially from Western Europe, are "more restrained" when it comes to the integration process.

The prime minister also commented on Serbia's situation. "Serbia wants to intergrate with the EU, but it takes two to tango, and therefore inviting Serbia as soon as possible to this process would certainly help to pull it away from Russian influence," he said. "And that's also what I recommended my colleagues from Western Europe."