Western Balkan countries belong to EU, says European Commission head

Western Balkan countries belong to the European Union, the head of the European Commission said on Wednesday.

“We want to send a very clear message. The Western Balkans belong to the European Union, we want them in the European Union”, Ursula von der Leyen told reporters on the way to the EU-Western Balkans summit hosted by the Slovenian precedency of the Council of the EU in Brdo.

“We are one European family. We share the same history. We share the same values, and I'm deeply convinced we share the same destiny with the six Western Balkan countries”, von der Leyen added.

She also said that the effort and progress that the Western Balkans countries made for EU integration had to be acknowledged, but warned that “still work has to be done, for example, on the rule of law, the judiciary and the freedom of the media.”

EU heads of state and government meet the leaders of the six Western Balkans countries - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia - to discuss the future of their relations with the bloc.

EU leaders are expected to approve a €30 billion ($34.6 billion) economic and investment plan for the region.