TIRANA, December 6 – The EU-Western Balkans summit was held in Tirana on 6 December 2022 which is the first-ever high level meeting of the kind between EU and Western Balkan leaders to take place in the Western Balkan region.
The summit was an opportunity to reconfirm the key importance of strategic partnership between the EU and the Western Balkans, a region with a clear EU perspective.
According to EU official information, the main topics of discussion were tackling together the consequences the Russian aggression against Ukraine, intensifying political and policy engagement, reinforcing security and building resilience against foreign interference and addressing the challenges posed by migration, the fight against terrorism and organised crime.
All EU-27 member states and Western Balkans partners were invited to the summit, including Serb President Aleksandar Vucic who had declared earlier that he would not attend the Tirana Summit because of the dispute with Kosovo, which was represented by President Vjosa Osmani.
Leaders discussed cooperation in the face of common challenges stemming from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. They looked at how to tackle its negative effects on energy and food security in the Western Balkans.
The EU and Western Balkans leaders also discussed ways of deepening political and policy engagement, with a particular focus on young people.
They also reviewed the progress made towards integration of the Western Balkans with the EU internal market, on the modernisation of their payments systems in line with the EU standards, in the digital area, in the implementation of the EU-Western Balkans green lanes, an initiative to facilitate cross-border logistics and continuous flow of goods
The summit was an opportunity to discuss coordinated actions on security and defence issues, which have become even more relevant in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
This included fighting foreign information manipulation and improving collective cybersecurity.
Albania is one of the countries which is under attack by Iranian hackers who continue to release sensitive data on different aspects of this Balkan country, a NATO member and aspirant to join the EU.
Regarding migration the leaders exchanged views on jointly addressing migration management as numbers on the Western Balkans migratory route have increased substantially in the past year. This includes alignment on EU visa policy and cooperation on return systems.
Albania has become one of the most problematic countries regarding the migration of its citizens to European countries, especially to Britain.
The participants in the Summit also discussed how to strengthen collaboration on counter-terrorism and prevention of radicalisation.
As part of the EU-Western Balkans Summit, the Roaming Agreement was signed in Tirana, which paves the way for the start of the process for the removal of the roaming fee between the countries of the European Union and the Western Balkans.
The agreement was signed in the presence of the 6 leaders of the Western Balkans, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the President of the EC, Ursula Von Der Leyen, the Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi and the Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, Majlinda Bregu.
The Roaming Agreement comes into force starting from October 1, 2023.
A declaration was issued at the end of the summit.
The Summit is over and many leaders left the Albanian capital without waiting for the joint press conference of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the President of the EC, Ursula Von Der Leyen, and the host of the event, Albanian premier Edi Rama. /Argumentum.al
