The European Union has become inward-looking while its "narrow political interests" hijacked the enlargement agenda, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Friday, criticizing the stalling of the accession of North Macedonia and Albania.

"We see the Open Balkan Initiative as a bridge between the Balkans and the EU. Enlargement was one of the EU's most successful policies in the past. But the EU has become inward-looking and narrow political interests have taken over the enlargement agenda. No one can properly explain why Albania and North Macedonia have waited so long," Çavuşoğlu said speaking at the Open Balkan Initiative in Belgrade.

North Macedonia became an EU candidate in 2005, while Albania was granted candidate status in 2014. Albania's negotiations have been stalled since 2020 due to a dispute with Bulgaria over linguistic and historical issues.

Congratulating North Macedonia and Albania for starting accession negotiations, Çavuşoğlu underlined that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has once again displayed the importance of EU enlargement. "I hope their experience will be different than ours," he said. "I don't want to talk about how Türkiye's membership was politicized due to narrow interests."

Türkiye-EU relations are marked by disputes on several issues, including tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Tü rkiye's role in Syria, the migrant crisis and the stalemate in Türkiye's accession process to join the bloc. Ankara recently reiterated that it is part of Europe and sees its future in the EU, adding that it will continue to work toward full membership.

Türkiye has the longest history with the union and the longest negotiation process. The country signed an association agreement with the EU's predecessor in 1964, the European Economic Community (EEC), which is usually regarded as a first step to eventually becoming a candidate. Applying for official candidacy in 1987, Türkiye had to wait until 1999 to be granted the status of a candidate country. For the start of the negotiations, however, Turkey had to wait for another six years, until 2005, a uniquely long process compared with other candidates.

Çavuşoğlu also emphasized the importance of Balkan-owned cooperation for peace and stability. He added that he hoped more countries would join the Open Balkan Initiative.

"The Balkans must control their own fate. We must remove barriers to growth. We must prosper together."

Türkiye’s top diplomat also touched on recent tensions between Serbia and Kosovo and said that Ankara is continuing to encourage dialogue toward an agreement between the two countries on vehicle plates as well as on other issues.

''The (recent) agreement on ID cards shows the merit in focusing on our shared interests rather than differences. Türkiye has open communication with both parties."

Pristina recently announced that around 50,000 ethnic Serbs in the region would have to switch their car license plates to local ones within two months.

Kosovo, which is predominantly ethnic Albanian, has sought to compel Serbs to accept Pristina's authority in routine bureaucratic matters since winning independence in 2008 after nearly a decadelong uprising against Serbia's repressive rule.

Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's independence and Serbs in northern Kosovo consider Belgrade as their capital.

Çavuşoğlu also gave assurances that Türkiye will help ensure the Balkans' gas needs will be met this winter.

''The war in Europe is a wake-up call. We see how vulnerable we are to various shocks. Winter is coming," Çavuşoğlu highlighted.

"Energy and food security became common challenges. There is no remedy other than solidarity. As Türkiye, we continue to do our best for the smooth implementation of the Istanbul grain deal. We also do our best to help our Balkan neighbors in ensuring their gas needs for the winter,'' he added, also citing the deal reached in Istanbul this July unblocking Ukrainian grain exports.

Open Balkans

Çavuşoğlu added that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will visit the region next week, adding: ''The current situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina will be on the top of our agenda. We cannot allow another conflict at the heart of the Balkans."

Çavuşoğlu arrived on Thursday night for a two-day visit to Belgrade that included a meeting with his Serbian counterpart.

The Open Balkan Initiative Summit was hosted by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and attended by Çavuşoğlu along with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

The initiative covers an economic and political zone between Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia, aimed at boosting trade and student exchange opportunities for some 12 million people, as well as encouraging the three countries' integration into the EU.

In April, Serbia opened a special section at its border gates for commercial vehicles under the Open Balkans initiative for a joint economic area in the Western Balkans.

Kosovo is the only country out of the six Western Balkan countries that continues to refuse to participate in the initiative.