Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has once again become a stumbling block for Brussels - this time blocking a procedural step for Ukraine and Moldova to enter the European Union. But what's interesting for us is the justification he used: that fast-tracking the opening of talks with Kyiv would send „the wrong message to Serbia and the other Western Balkan countries that have been waiting in line for years“.

Orban prevented all 27 members from sending a joint letter to the European Council and the Commission, and also insisted on deleting the wording that membership should come „as soon as possible“. In other words, he stopped the train for Ukraine and Moldova just as they wanted to open all six negotiating clusters by mid-July.

And here comes the part the Balkans should listen to closely. Orban mentioned Serbia, Albania, Montenegro and Macedonia as candidates who „deserve“ attention before Kyiv jumps ahead. It sounds like solidarity. But is it really? When one leader uses our region as an argument to slow someone else down, the question is whether it helps us or only serves him in his showdowns with Brussels.

The Western Balkan countries have been waiting in line before the EU for so long that the waiting has become part of the identity - like a municipal counter where the number never changes. Does Orban really care about our place in the queue, or is he just using our name as an excuse? The region's history teaches that when the big ones speak in our name, it's rarely for our sake.