The meeting was also attended by Angelina Eichhorst, Director for Western Europe, Western Balkans and Turkey of the European External Action Service and representatives of the European Commission and the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council.

The talks focused on the Western Balkans’ EU integration prospects  and  challenges for a common European future in the context of a changing world order. Referring to the European Commission’s set of enlargement reports awaiting publication, the attendees said they expected that Western Balkans country reports would contain positive recommendations to move to the next  stages of the enlargement process. They also underscored that the reform of the EU and the transformation and integration processes of the Western Balkan States should go hand in hand. The meeting participants  expressed their strong support  for the Member States’ decision to open  EU’s negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia during the General Affairs Council in June.

The participants were also briefed about the conclusions of the “Think Visegrad” Conference, where the Visegrad Group and the Western Balkan analysts discussed the situation in the region and the development prospects of the Balkan Six-EU relations. The executive director of the Western Balkans Fund also presented his report.

 

MFA Press Office

 

Photo: Tomas Bokor / Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic