During day-long summit in Tirana, Albania, the EU will try to reassure Western Balkan states that they might one day join the bloc
European Council President Charles Michel, who is jointly chairing the summit, hailed it as a “symbolic meeting” that will cement the futures of the six countries within Europe.
“The shockwaves of this war are hitting the Western Balkans. To counter that, we are stepping up our engagement as the Western Balkans remain our geostrategic priority — the closest and most important geostrategic priority.” That particular point has been problematic with Serbia, whose president, Aleksandar Vucic, claims he wants to take Serbia into the European Union but has cultivated ties with Russia.
This summer, the EU started membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia following years of delays.
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