Leaders from the Western Balkans will gather on Monday at the 10th Summit of the Berlin Process to further advance the initiative that serves as a bridge between the region and the European Union.
The summit will be led by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has continued the agenda of former Chancellor Angela Merkel to strengthen ties among the countries in the region and enhance their progress toward EU membership.
Attendees will include leaders from Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also participating.
A key topic for discussion will be the CEFTA agreement, particularly in light of the nine new agreements approved recently. Notably, Kosovo has partially lifted the ban on imports of Serbian goods after warnings that it might be excluded from the agreement.
In anticipation of the summit, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti emphasized the necessity of regional cooperation, highlighting the need to implement the agreement for free movement between Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which benefits citizens in both countries.
Kurti is already in Germany, where he, along with Foreign Minister Donika Gërvalla, is engaging with the Kosovo diaspora, primarily regarding the upcoming elections in Kosovo.
Additionally, a meeting of the Youth and Civil Society Forum will take place, having convened earlier this week in Berlin.
This summit occurs just two days before the second Intergovernmental Conference between Albania and the European Union, scheduled for Wednesday in Brussels, where Albania will open its first negotiating group.
The last meeting of the Berlin Process took place in Tirana on October 16, 2023, marking the tenth in a series of such summits and the first held in a non-EU member country.
On Monday, the leaders of the Western Balkans and the EU will meet in Berlin, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the launch of this process on August 28, 2014.
The six Western Balkan countries are expected to approve a new four-year action plan for the common regional market, as well as a new agreement on access to education in secondary schools.
