(Bloomberg) — As many as six Balkan European Union aspirants will ask the bloc to include them in any financial support package designed to cope with high energy prices.
(Bloomberg) — As many as six Balkan European Union aspirants will ask the bloc to include them in any financial support package designed to cope with high energy prices.
Albania, Serbia, North Macedonia and possibly three other candidates are facing at least “seven very hard months” of steep power prices and potential fuel shortages, Albanian Premier Edi Rama told reporters in Belgrade on Friday.
“We have only our own, very small budgets,” that need support to get through the winter, he said. Billing power consumers at prices reflecting market rates is not an option, “so we’re going to address Brussels and all the other member countries, in writing” to get “additional financial support on top of our budgets,” he said.
He didn’t specify the overall amount the countries would ask for, but said that for Albanian alone it would be 500 million euros ($500 million).
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo may also join the appeal, Rama said, urging the EU “not to show shameful behavior” as seen during the pandemic, when he said the bloc left aspiring members scrambling for vaccines and other medical supplies.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic agreed, saying the western Balkans states will help each other through the winter crunch, but EU needs to show solidarity as well.
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