Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa on Wednesday supported Croatia, Bulgaria, and Romania joining the Schengen area, saying it would strengthen security in Europe.

Jansa spoke at a press conference with European Parliament President David Sassoli via video link from Ljubljana after presenting to European Parliament leaders the priorities of the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU, which starts on July 1.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in Brussels on Tuesday he expected Croatia’s Schengen membership could be on the agenda during the Slovenian presidency.

“Croatia is on the right track to become a member of the Schengen area in 2022 and then to enter the euro zone. I think that’s possible. When we look at the very good relations we now have with Slovenia, it would be a great scenario if something like that happened during Slovenia’s presidency of the Council of the EU,” he said.

Jansa also supported EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, saying many problems there, including border issues, would be taken off the agenda with the accession of those countries.

EU enlargement is in our common interest. It should be our strategic response to numerous challenges, he added.

He said that when the EU was dealing with the financial and then the migrant crisis, neglecting enlargement, some other factors started expanding their influence in the Western Balkans.

Those foreign factors don’t have the same values as we in the European Union, he added, saying that a European perspective was the answer.

We can solve problems by making borders less important. Slovenia is now part of the European Union and Schengen, where there are no physical borders, he added.

He announced an EU-Western Balkan summit for October 6 in Slovenia.

As for the priorities of Slovenia’s EU presidency, Jansa highlighted respect for the rule of law and EU resilience to crises. He also underlined the importance of the Conference on the Future of the EU, which will end next year during the French presidency.