On the eve of the EU-Western Balkans Summit, which begins on Wednesday afternoon, in Brussels, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has requested the removal of the veto for certain stages of enlargement. 

During a government statement in the German Parliament for the EU Summit in Brussels, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called, among other things, for more support and appreciation for the countries of the Western Balkans. 

Scholz recalled on the eve of the EU-Western Balkans summit, which begins on Wednesday in Brussels, that "for 20 years, countries like Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia have been waiting to "became part of the EU" and added that now "the time has come for everyone to see the general panorama, both the candidates and the EU member states". 

According to the German chancellor, this general panorama is "the historic chance to finally connect the region with Europe and leave the problems of the past in the past". 

-"Countries that make reforms must be praised"

This call was addressed to the candidate countries, but rather to the EU member countries, which according to Scholz should enable the internal reformation of the union. Specifically, the German chancellor requested that the veto rule be removed for many steps within the enlargement process. 

"There is no need for every decision, such as the opening or closing of negotiation chapters, to depend on each member country. If countries, such as Albania, have made important reforms, this should be appreciated. Otherwise, there is a risk of damaging the entire membership process and we should not allow this", said the chancellor amidst the applause of many MPs in the hall. 

-The Beleri issue: Germany treats it as bilateral 

The calls of the social democratic chancellor went indirectly to the address of Greece, which has threatened that it will not allow the opening of the first chapter of negotiations with Albania, without solving the Beleri issue. While for Greece, this is an issue related to the rule of law and minority rights, for Germany it is a bilateral issue and must be resolved within the bilateral framework. An attitude that German Chancellor Scholz emphasized a few weeks ago during the visit of the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Micotakis to Berlin. The elected mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri, has been in custody for seven months on the charge of "active corruption" for buying and selling votes.