News: EU-Western Balkans Summit 2024: Towards Strengthening Regional Partnerships

The EU-Western Balkans Summit 2024 took place in Brussels with the aim of reaffirming the EU's commitment to the region. The discussions ficused on the war in Ukraine and strengthening regional partnerships through the Growth Plan. Concerns were also raised ahead of Albania's 2025 parliamentary elections, in light of Russian interference in Georgia, Moldova, and Romania.

The new President of the EU Council, Antonio Costa, stated that enlargement represents "an important geopolitical investment in peace, security, and prosperity" and that it will be a "priority for the mandate."

The new Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, also said that "for the first time in a decade, there is a realistic prospect that we can bring one or more enlargement countries to the finish line during this mandate."

Regarding tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, the EU emphasized that political and economic measures against Kosovo remain in effect, noting that the normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade is a condition for advancing their EU accession negotiations. This decision prompted a response from Kosovo's President, Vjosa Osmani, who expressed her "disappointment with the treatment Kosovo is receiving from some EU member states."

More optimistic were the words of Montenegro's President, Jakov Milatović, who stated he was "very aware of the new commitment coming from Brussels on EU enlargement." Montenegro is currently the closest of the candidate countries to obtaining EU membership, which the country hopes will happen by 2028.

The re-election of Trump was also discussed, raising concerns about the future U.S. involvement in the region.

Photo credits: © European Union, 2024, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons