STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The next head of the European Union's powerful executive, German conservative Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday she wanted to keep the Western Balkans "as close as possible" to the bloc.
"I am completely convinced it is in our best strategic interest that we keep the Western Balkans as close as possible," she said after EU lawmakers gave the final backing to her new European Commission to start from Dec.1.
(Reporting by Marine Strauss, Jan Strupczewski, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Jon Boyle)