SOFIA, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The situation in the western Balkans still fraught with risks, and the Euro-Atlantic integration of the countries in the region will not be easy, Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Krasimir Karakachanov said here on Monday.
While several analysts say that the Euro-Atlantic integration of the western Balkans region is deepening, "we are obliged to point out the real facts," Karakachanov said when opening the new academic year at the National Defense Academy.
"The situation in the western Balkans continues to generate risks," he said.
The long-standing problems of political confrontation in North Macedonia, combined with inter-ethnic confrontation and enormous corruption, create the preconditions for instability in this country, Karakachanov said.
In countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, and also in certain regions of Serbia, the process of Euro-Atlantic integration requires increased attention and thorough analyses, he said.
This "will not be an easy process, and unfortunately it will not be quick," Karakachanov added.
He also said that terrorist threats, migration waves, organized crime, as well as cybercrime remained the main risks and threats to the national security of Bulgaria and to Europe as a whole.
