EU, Western Balkans leaders gather in Montenegro

The leaders of all six Western Balkan countries aspiring to join the EU — Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo — will gather in the Montenegrin coastal resort of Tivat.

The EU delegation will include the leaders of most member states, as well as António Costa and Ursula von der Leyen, CE Report quotes STA.

In light of the increasingly complex geopolitical environment, EU enlargement has once again become one of the Union’s strategic priorities. The EU side is expected to reaffirm its commitment to the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries.

Ahead of the summit on Thursday, France and Germany presented an initiative aimed at giving new momentum to EU enlargement. The proposal is designed to facilitate the gradual integration of candidate countries into the EU and to simplify and accelerate the enlargement process.

During the summit in Tivat, leaders will evaluate progress in the gradual integration of the Western Balkans into the EU and discuss ways to further accelerate the process, particularly through the €6 billion Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

At a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty and economic instability, participants will also discuss common challenges and deeper cooperation in foreign, security, and defense policy.

Among the candidates, Montenegro and Albania are considered to be making the most progress toward EU membership. Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, however, have not achieved significant progress in their EU accession efforts in recent years.

Photo: Wikipedia