PRAGUE, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Ministers of Visegrad Group (V4) countries, namely the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland on Monday blamed the slow process of the European Union enlargement at a meeting held here.
"The failure to approve the opening of accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia at the October General Affairs Council has greatly damaged the EU's credibility and enlargement process. It can have serious consequences for the stability and security of the Western Balkans," said Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek.
The foreign ministers discussed topics of priorities of the new European Commission (EC), EU expansion, the Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiative, Brexit, and security cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at the meeting, according to the Czech Foreign Ministry.
The meeting, hosted by the Czech Republic, came ahead of the arrival of the new EC and was presented under the motto "V4 Reasonable Europe" with a focus on the V4's coalition potential in the EU.
The ministers affirmed deeper integration between the V4 and their neighboring regions, the EaP and Wester Balkans. Another summit is expected to take place in the spring of 2020 in a V4+ format, allowing for EaP and Western Balkan state members to join in formal diplomatic talks.
"With our V4 partners, we reaffirmed our solidarity with our neighboring regions - the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership. V4 is determined to do everything possible to make these countries even more involved in the process of European integration," said Petricek.
The meeting also touched on the EU's relations with the United States, developments in Brexit, and foreign policy issues pertinent to the December meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, according to the ministry.
The Czech Republic is now holding the V4 presidency, which will last till mid-2020.
