ZAGREB, July 9, 2018 – A two-day EU-Western Balkans summit opened in London on Monday with a meeting of foreign ministers of six Balkan nations and representatives of civil society. It is the fifth summit of EU leaders, representatives of EU institutions and senior officials from the countries of Southeast Europe aspiring to join the European Union.
The summit is taking place as part of the Berlin Process, launched in 2014 at the initiative of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to encourage the countries in the region to implement the necessary reforms and to show that, despite membership fatigue, the EU continues to keep its door open to new members.
Croatia will be represented by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Foreign Minister Marija Burić Pejčinović and Interior Minister Davor Božinović.
The foreign ministers of the EU and the Western Balkans are due to meet later in the day to discuss strengthening economic stability, regional security cooperation, good-neighbourly relations, and migration.
The interior ministers will hold a separate meeting to discuss security issues, information exchange, illegal possession, use and trafficking of firearms, human trafficking, forced labour, migration, and corruption. On the margins of the summit, Croatian Interior Minister Božinović is expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Serbia and Slovenia.
The leaders of the countries involved, including Croatian Prime Minister Plenković, will meet on the second day of the summit, and the meeting will be opened by British Prime Minister Theresa May.
The summit is being attended by the six Balkan countries aspiring to join the EU – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia; seven EU member states involved in the Berlin Process – Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Slovenia; the United Kingdom as the host; and EU member Bulgaria, which hosted an EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia in May.
The British Foreign Office has said that the main aims of the summit are to increase economic stability by improving the business environment and regional inter-connectivity, strengthen regional security, including the fight against corruption, organised crime, trafficking of people, drugs and firearms, terrorism and violent extremism, and facilitate political cooperation to accelerate the resolution of bilateral issues.
