European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will begin a tour of the Western Balkans in Tirana on Wednesday, with meetings scheduled with the leaders of Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia.
The European Commission said Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were not included in the current tour because of upcoming parliamentary elections in those countries. Von der Leyen is expected to visit Belgrade and Sarajevo at a later date.
The visit marks von der Leyen’s sixth annual tour of the Western Balkans. According to the European Commission, the focus will be on the next steps needed to advance the region’s EU integration process, including gradual integration supported by the EU’s €6 billion Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.
On the first day of the tour, von der Leyen will hold talks in Tirana with Albanian President Bajram Begaj and Prime Minister Edi Rama.
On Thursday, she will travel to Prishtina, where she is scheduled to meet acting Kosovo President Albulena Haxhiu and Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
Later that day, von der Leyen will travel to Podgorica for meetings with Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović and Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.
The tour will conclude in Skopje, where she will meet North Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova and Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
During the regional tour, von der Leyen is also expected to visit several EU-funded projects. These include a school in Tirana rebuilt following the 2019 earthquake, new facilities of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in Prishtina, and a railway corridor in North Macedonia.
In Podgorica, she will attend the opening of a National Coordination Centre aimed at strengthening border management and improving information exchange with EU member states and Frontex.
