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Chancellor Olaf Scholz said today that it is in the interest of Germany and Europe that the Balkan countries, which are not yet in the EU, become members of the union, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.

Speaking to parliament ahead of a one-day EU summit in Brussels, Scholz welcomed the revival in recent months of talks with the six Western Balkan countries to join the EU, as well as the decision this week to grant Bosnia candidate status.

"It is in our German and European interest that the rest of the Balkans become part of the European Union," he told MPs in Berlin.

Do not undermine the EU with a veto in foreign policy, Scholz warned member states

Scholz also praised the decision to allow Croatia to join Europe's ID-free travel area and said Bulgaria and Romania should "soon" also become part of the Schengen area.

For now, Austria blocks the desire of Sofia and Bucharest to join the Schengen area, AP notes.

Schengen area

Schengen admission

Bulgaria in Schengen

Balkans