German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that the British vote to leave the European Union will play no role in whether several West Balkan nations are admitted to the bloc, Deutsche Welle reports. The third annual meeting to discuss the possible future of countries such as Albania, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the bloc was held in Paris.
"Nothing has changed with Britain's decision. This is what these countries were afraid of," Merkel told the press. She said the only thing that mattered in their bids, some of which have been ongoing since 2000, was that the nations fulfill a list of previously agreed requirements.