Leaders of the six Western Balkans countries, plus Croatia, Slovenia and the EU, discussed regional cooperation at a summit in Tirana on Thursday (9 May), as well as ways to bring the region closer to the EU.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini attempted to use the leaders’ gathering, held as part of the Brdo-Brijuni process, to relaunch the stalled dialogue between Belgrade and Priština, seen as key to regional stability.
Polish President Andrzej Duda and EU High Representative Federica Mogherini were guests of honour at the summit, hosted by Albanian President Ilir Meta, and the two co-chairs of the process, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and her Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor.
In a joint statement adopted at the end of the summit, the participants called on the EU to consider enlargement in the Western Balkans as a matter of high geopolitical importance. The full integration of Western Balkan countries into the European value system is a key factor for the overall stability of Europe, according to the summit conclusions.
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