The Presidents of the Western Balkans have addressed a letter to the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, through which they propose to the Parliament and the European Commission some additional measures to fight the pandemic in the region.
“Aware of the complexity of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the number of infected people and the inadequate medical equipment of our countries, today, more than ever, we need solidarity, a coordinated approach and joint action. Therefore, we demand that the Western Balkan countries:
- To be excluded from the decision to restrict the export of medical equipment from the European Union and be included in the EU export authorization scheme.
- The have the access to joint EU procurement of medical equipment to fight the pandemic.
- To allow that a part of the IPA II Program funds and all other funds available from EU sources to be used to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apart from the proposed measures, on behalf of the parliaments of our countries, we welcome any assistance that the European Union is willing to make available to the Western Balkan countries.
The letter was signed by Gramoz Ruci, Speaker of the Albanian Parliament; Denis Zvizdic; Speaker of the House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Dragan Covic, Speaker of the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vjosa Osmani, President of the Assembly of Kosovo; Ivan Brajovic, Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro; Talat Xhaferi, Speaker of the Parliament of Northern Macedonia; Maja Gojkovic, Speaker of the Serbian Parliament./abcnews.al
