The European Union should hold summits with Western Balkans nations every six months to prove its commitment to integrate the region, dpa cited Slovakia's foreign minister Miroslav Lajcak as suggesting today. Croatia is expected to join the bloc around 2012-2013, while the timelines for the accession of Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo are far more uncertain, as current EU members appear to have lost the appetite for further expansion of the bloc. Lajcak, a former EU and United Nations envoy to Bosnia, said a recent EU-Balkans conference in Sarajevo was useful to reinvigorate the enlargement process "because there were no expectations at all, so there was no room for disappointment." He insisted the get-together needed to be "followed up" by regular meetings at the end of every EU presidency, which last six months. In parallel, Lajcak acknowledged that EU could appoint a special envoy to the Balkans, something that the bloc's foreign policy director Catherine Ashton is thought to be considering. Reacting to questions about media speculation over his candidacy for the job, he did not completely rule himself out himself, saying he was "not interested as long as (he) remains Slovakia's foreign minister." Slovakia holds elections on Saturday, meaning that Lajcak's tenure is not guaranteed, even if the socialist party of current premier Robert Fico is expected to top the poll. Slovakia is also one of the five EU countries that has not recognised the independence of Kosovo, complicating Brussels' approach to the former Serbian province. However, Lacjak said his country was not opposed to Kosovo taking "practical" steps towards EU integration, including a possible easing of visa regimes. But he warned that after a ruling from the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legality of Kosovo's secession, expected this year, "there will be a new situation." Serbia would likely react by pushing for a resolution of the UN General Assembly calling for fresh negotiations on Kosovo's status, and "there would easily be enough votes to support it," Lacjak said.
