EU's Juncker warns of possible return to war in Balkans
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is warning that the volatile Balkans could face a return to war if countries in the region have no hope of joining the European Union.
Juncker told EU lawmakers Tuesday: "I don't want a return to war in the Western Balkans."
He said: "If we remove from these countries, in this extremely complicated region, I should say tragically, a European perspective, we are going to live what we already went through in the 1990s."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}EU and Balkan leaders meet in Bulgaria next month, but the EU is unlikely to invite any country to join soon.
The prospect of EU membership has proved a driving force for reform in the Balkans, which was torn apart by war as former Yugoslavia broke up.