European Union offers a new growth plan to Western Balkans, partly opening the single market
Leaders from the European Union offered a new growth plan to the Western Balkans at a summit in Albania’s capital on Monday, opening parts of the EU single market and asking for deep-rooted reforms ahead of membership in the bloc for the six countries ...
TIRANA, Albania — Leaders from the European Union offered a new growth plan to the Western Balkans at a summit in Albania's capital on Monday, opening parts of the EU single market and asking for deep-rooted reforms ahead of membership in the bloc for the six countries of the region.
The main topics at the annual talks — called the Berlin Process — are the integration of the Western Balkans into the single market and supporting their green and digital transformation. The nations in the region are Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
The senior EU officials attending the summit in Tirana were European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel. They were joined by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
French President Emmanuel Macron did not join the summit, due to the recent incident when a teacher was fatally stabbed and three people wounded in a school attack in northern France. He was represented by State Secretary Laurence Boon.
Macron was due to begin an official visit to Tirana later on Monday.
The six Western Balkan countries are at different stages of integration into the bloc. Serbia and Montenegro were the first Western Balkan countries to launch membership negotiations a few years ago, followed by Albania and Macedonia last year, while Bosnia and Kosovo have only begun the first step of the integration process.
Scholtz said “the Berlin process is the best instrument to not only unleash the
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