Western Balkan leaders meet in Albania to discuss accelerating EU integration

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GOLEM, Albania (AP) — The presidents of the Western Balkan nations gathered Monday in Albania to discuss ways they can accelerate their economic integration with the European Union amid mounting geopolitical challenges.

The meeting in Golem, Albania, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the capital of Tirana, is an annual gathering held as part of a diplomatic initiative launched by European Union members Slovenia and Croatia in 2013.

The intention was to support EU enlargement to the Western Balkans — a region that includes Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo.

All of the countries are working to join the EU but are at different stages in their membership path, with Montenegro and Albania ahead and Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo and North Macedonia lagging behind.

The EU’s openness to accept new members has grown since the all-out war in Ukraine started on Feb. 24, 2022. There are concerns the war in Ukraine and Russia’s deepening confrontation with the West could spill over into a region still scarred by its own conflicts.

The initiative seeks to strengthen political dialogue and promote reconciliation after the wars of the 1990s, with tensions still simmering — for instance, between Serbia and Kosovo.

The largely ceremonial annual gathering was being led by Albanian President Bajram Begaj, Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar and Croatian President Zoran Milanovic.

Members of Bosnia's tripartite presidency and the presidents of Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia were also expected to attend.

The initiative was named the Brdo-Brijuni Process after two locations — Brdo pri Kranju in Slovenia and the Brijuni Islands in Croatia — that are symbolic of reconciliation and diplomacy.

The summit’s three hosts are scheduled to hold a news conference at the end of the one-day summit.

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Semini reported from Tirana, Albania.