EU-Western Balkans summit will be held on 6 October

F.P. Report

BRUSSELS: Hosted by the Slovenian Presidency of the Council in Brdo pri Kranju, the EU-Western Balkans summit will bring together leaders from:

EU member states

The six Western Balkans partners: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia and Kosovo*

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, will chair the summit. President Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, will represent the EU.

The summit is part of the EU’s strategic engagement with the Western Balkans, in line with the 2019-2024 Strategic Agenda. It follows the 2018 EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia and the 2020 EU-Western Balkans Zagreb summit, which was held via video conference.

Summit programme

The summit will consist of a morning plenary session followed by a working lunch.

Discussions at the plenary session will centre around:

reaffirmation of the European perspective of the Western Balkans, which is of mutual strategic interest and remains a shared strategic choice

development of our cooperation and the region’s socio-economic recovery, in the context of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic

implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan (EIP), which sets out a substantial investment package and will generate more sustainable, green, digital and people-focused growth, benefiting the region and Europe as a whole

intensifying regional cooperation

exploring further cooperation on political and security matters of mutual concern

For the plenary session, the leaders will be joined by representatives of the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank and the Regional Cooperation Council.

At the end of the meeting, the EU leaders are expected to adopt a declaration, with which the Western Balkans leaders are invited to align themselves.

A €30 billion Economic and Investment Plan (EIP)

The EU is the Western Balkans’ main political, economic and trade partner. Through the EIP, the EU is now providing unprecedented financial support mobilising some €30 billion for the region over the next seven years.

The EU will provide €9 billion worth of grant funding through 10 investment flagships. In this way the EIP aims to:

  • spur long-term economic recovery
  • accelerate a green and digital transition
  • support regional cooperation
  • foster convergence with the EU

The EIP will also help attract public and private investments, backed by the Western Balkan Guarantee Facility, which has a potential to mobilise €20 billion.