EU-Western Balkans summit in Tirana, 6 December 2022

On this page you will soon find all the information related to this meeting.

This is the first-ever summit between EU and Western Balkan leaders to take place in the Western Balkan region.

The summit is an opportunity to reconfirm the key importance of strategic partnership between the EU and the Western Balkans, a region with a clear EU perspective.

The main topics of discussion will be:

• tackling together the consequences the Russian aggression against Ukraine
• intensifying political and policy engagement
• reinforcing security and building resilience against foreign interference
• addressing the challenges posed by migration, the fight against terrorism and organised crime

Leaders are expected to issue a declaration at the end of the summit.

All EU-27 member states and Western Balkans partners have been invited to the summit.

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Leaders will discuss cooperation in the face of common challenges stemming from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

They will more specifically look at how to tackle its negative effects on energy and food security in the Western Balkans.

EU response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (background information)

Food security and affordability (background information)

Political and policy engagement

The EU and Western Balkans leaders will discuss ways of deepening political and policy engagement, with a particular focus on young people.

They will also take stock of the progress made:

• towards integration of the Western Balkans with the EU internal market
• on the modernisation of their payments systems in line with the EU standards
• in the digital area
• in the implementation of the EU-Western Balkans green lanes, an initiative to facilitate cross-border logistics and continuous flow of goods

Security and resilience against foreign interference

The summit will be an opportunity to discuss coordinated actions on security and defence issues, which have become even more relevant in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

This includes fighting foreign information manipulation and improving collective cybersecurity.

European Peace Facility (background information)

Cybersecurity: how the EU tackles cyber threats (background information)

Migration management

Leaders will exchange views on jointly addressing migration management as numbers on the Western Balkans migratory route have increased substantially in the past year. This includes alignment on EU visa policy and cooperation on return systems.

They will also discuss how to strengthen collaboration on counter-terrorism and prevention of radicalisation.

EU migration policy (background information)

EU visa policy (background information)