Plassnik: Balkans should continue reforms if they want EU visa relief

Balkan states should continue judicial and security reforms if they want the current EU visa restrictions for their citizens to be dropped, Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said after a regional prime ministers’ meeting on Saturday (July 28th) in Salzburg. “Visas should not be removed without certain progress in the Balkan states,” she said, adding that the region should not implement reforms just to appeal to the EU.Saturday’s conference brought together prime ministers Sali Berisha of Albania, Ivo Sanader of Croatia, Zeljko Sturanovic of Montenegro and Vasile Tarlev of Moldova, as well as Plassnik, Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer and Stability Pact co-ordinator Erhard Busek.