The statement was controversial and populistic, says Stefan Fule, the outgoing enlargement commissioner, because no Balkan country would have been ready to join in the next five years.
In addition to being close to cocaine production, drug smugglers from Mexico, Colombia and the Balkans in Europe have also set up operations in Ecuador.
Nowhere has the fighting been fiercer in the worst war to hit Europe since the Balkans, than here.Donetsk, once proud Sergey Prokofiev International Airport.
A BBC correspondent says Brussels is reaffirming its often-doubted commitment to the western Balkans on nudging Bosnian politicians towards necessary political reforms.
For Mr Juncker, says Miroslav Lajcak, the Slovak foreign minister, enlargement is clearly not a priority; but this need not cause the Balkans undue alarm.