German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called for the rapid admission to the European Union of accession candidates in the Western Balkans as the bloc marks the 20th anniversary of its enlargement by 10 countries in 2004. “Political and geographical ‘grey areas’ in the Balkans or in the east of the EU are extremely dangerous,” Baerbock wrote in an opinion piece published to mark the anniversary. “We cannot afford such grey areas, because for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin they are an invitation to interfere, to destabilize,” Baerbock said. The article, which dpa saw in advance of pu…