EU pushes forward Western Balkan integration

Tonight’s dinner organized by the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas for the foreign ministers of the six EU candidate states from the Western Balkans, including Macedonian FM Timcho Mucunski, will reaffirm the EU’s commitment to the Western Balkans.

An EU official told MIA's Brussels correspondent that Enlargement remains the most important geopolitical project f3 or stability and security on our continent, CE Report quotes MIA.

"We will focus on how the EU can bolster already solid cooperation with Western Balkans partners to address global and regional challenges, including the need for timely and comprehensive assistance to Ukraine," the EU official said.

"Moving forward, we are identifying additional practical steps to strengthen our cooperation in multilateral fora and in security cooperation," the official said, adding that potential steps include joint efforts to combat foreign information manipulations and interference as well as other hybrid threats; to enhance cybersecurity capabilities; and to strengthen alignment with the EU’s foreign and security policy.

Kallas is hosting the dinner ahead of Thursday's EU Foreign Affairs Council, at which Greece is expected to present an initiative on the European perspective of the Western Balkan states, according to announcements from Athens.

The aim of the initiative is to reaffirm the Greek position in support of the regional countries' EU perspective and "to accelerate the path of the Western Balkans toward the European family."