William Molinié, edited by Gauthier Delomez / Photo credits: AFP 06:27, May 31, 2023

On the sidelines of the Globsec forum in Bratislava, Slovakia, an annual conference on security in Eastern and Northern Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron will hold talks with Macedonian and Albanian heads of state and government to build a "conciliation dialogue".

President Emmanuel Macron is expected this Wednesday in Bratislava, Slovakia for the Globsec Forum, an annual conference on security in Eastern and Northern Europe. In addition to the war in Ukraine, the question of the Balkans will be part of the discussions since on Monday, 19 Hungarian and 11 Italian soldiers were wounded in clashes with Serb demonstrators in northern Kosovo. The Serbian army has also been placed at its highest level of alert and NATO has announced the sending of reinforcements.

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This umpteenth outbreak of fever raises fears of a major crisis that Emmanuel Macron will try to extinguish by meeting the Macedonian and Albanian leaders. "All this was precipitated in view of the latest events," reports the entourage of the head of state.

Europe does not have the means to face a new front

The French president had originally scheduled a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, but late Tuesday afternoon he canceled his trip to Bratislava due to tensions in Kosovo. Belgrade, Moscow's historic ally, is a pro-Russian stronghold in the heart of Europe. And while aspiring to join the European Union, it continues to massively support Vladimir Putin's Russia.

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With the Balkans, Emmanuel Macron wants to build "a dialogue of conciliation", says an adviser. Because the Old Continent does not have the means, after Ukraine, to face a new front. "Europe is under attack from all sides," a diplomat summed up a few days ago. The danger would be to lock oneself into the "Ukrainian tunnel effect", continues a military cadre, and to forget about peripheral conflicts, such as those between Kosovo and Serbia and Armenia and Azerbaijan. So many tools in the hands of Vladimir Putin to exploit the flaws of European security.