Short-sighted policies stall Balkans' integration into EU - Erdogan

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pays his respects at a convoy carrying remains of the Srebrenica genocide victims, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, July 9, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

MOUNT JAHORINA, Bosnia (Reuters) - Short-sighted anti-immigrant populism in some European Union member states has blocked the integration of Western Balkan countries into the EU, weakening the region's stability, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

He was speaking at a 12-nation Balkans summit where leaders voiced deep disappointment with the EU's lack of follow-through on promises to open membership talks with North Macedonia and Albania, opposed by northern EU countries.