German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder rapped on Wednesday European Union skeptics for seeking to prevent the bloc's expansion in the western Balkans.

At a news briefing held here with visiting Macedonian Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski, Schroeder warned that halting these perspectives would fuel instability, criticizing skeptics for taking the advantage of the French and Dutch rejection against the EU constitution in referendums in an attempt to tear up the entire Union.

He said the example of Macedonian stability was closely linked to its prospects for membership in the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Asked how enlargement into the region could be funded, the German chancellor said, "Instability is much more expensive," adding "You would be amazed if I told you how much the current situation in the Balkans with European soldiers costs."

Schroeder was cautious about listing any concrete timetable for the admission of western Balkan nations to EU or NATO, saying " this will vary greatly ...because the political and economic development in the Balkans vary greatly."

Source: Xinhua