BRUSSELS – The annual EU-Western Balkans Summit, hosted by Friends of Europe, will take place on 5 December in Brussels. This event aims to redefine the dialogue on EU enlargement by focusing on the accession processes of Western Balkan countries through an inclusive and innovative approach, and it will address the broader implications of EU enlargement on the Union’s long-term goals.
“The Western Balkans Summit aims to build a cohesive and comprehensive strategy for integrating the region into the EU while adapting its ambitions and policies to fit the new reality of an enlarged and more complex Europe”, Friends of Europe stated
According to the Friends of Europe, “the link between post-soviet Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine and the Western Balkans is akin to two sides of the same coin when it comes to EU enlargement”.
The three sessions of the summit will explore the following topics: the ways in which the Western Balkans can navigate the challenges and advance political reforms; the economic future of the region; and the critical aspects of justice reform in the Western Balkans.
Among the confirmed speakers at the summit are Gert Jan Koopman, European Commission Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), Jakov Milatović, President of Montenegro, Olha Stefanishyna, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, and Minister of Justice, Ana Brnabić, President of the National Assembly of Serbia and former Prime Minister of Serbia, Cristina Gherasimov, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration of Moldova and Chief Negotiator with the European Union, Bojan Božović, Minister of Justice of Montenegro, Milica Delević, Director for Competitiveness, Governance and Political Affairs at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Friends of Europe is a Brussels-based, not-for-profit think-tank for European Union policy analysis and debate.