Agenda highlights
EU and Western Balkans leaders will meet in Brussels one year after the 2022 summit in Tirana.
The summit is an opportunity to reaffirm the EU membership perspective of the Western Balkans as well as the need for partners’ sustained and irreversible reform achievements, underpinned by EU values and principles.
The main topics of discussion will be:
- deepening political and policy engagement with the Western Balkans
- bringing Western Balkans partners closer to the EU and advancing gradual integration
- building economic foundation for the future and mitigating the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine
- reinforcing security and building resilience
Leaders are expected to issue a declaration at the end of the summit.
Bringing Western Balkans partners closer to the EU and advancing gradual integration
The EU aims to bring the Western Balkans closer to the EU, preparing the ground for accession, and bringing concrete benefits to their citizens already during the enlargement process.
To this end, the EU intends to explore additional measures aimed at further advancing gradual integration.
The EU underlines the importance of fully using the potential of existing legal instruments.
Mitigating the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine
In order to mitigate the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU is determined to further intensify its political engagement with the Western Balkans region, in addition to the assistance already provided.
The EU will continue its support for the Western Balkan partners in tackling the negative effects on their economies and societies.
- EU response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (background information)
- Food security and affordability (background information)
Reinforcing security and building resilience
The summit will be an opportunity to discuss coordinated actions related to security issues, which have become even more relevant in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
This includes fighting foreign information manipulation and enhancing collective cybersecurity.
- European Peace Facility (background information)
- Cybersecurity: how the EU tackles cyber threats (background information)
Background information
The summit is part of the implementation of the European Council’s 2019-2024 strategic agenda.
Previous meetingsThe latest summit between EU and Western Balkans leaders took place in Tirana in December 2022.
This was the first-ever summit between EU and Western Balkans leaders to take place in the Western Balkans region.