The two-day EU-Western Balkans summit, held as part of the so-called Berlin Process, opened on Monday in London with a meeting of foreign ministers from six Balkan countries and representatives of civil society.
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The London summit is the fifth summit meeting of leaders from EU member states, representatives of European institutions, and senior officials from countries in the southeast of the continent that wish to become EU members.
The Berlin Process was initiated in 2014 at the initiative of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to encourage countries in the region to implement reforms and to show that the EU, despite enlargement fatigue, still keeps its doors open for new members.
Croatia will be represented at the summit by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the Ministers of Foreign and Internal Affairs, Marija Burić Pejčinović and Davor Božinović.
Later on Monday, the foreign ministers of EU countries and the Western Balkans will gather to discuss strengthening economic stability, regional security cooperation, as well as migration and enhancing good-neighborly relations.
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As part of the meeting, there will be presentations by young leaders, representatives of civil society, and start-up entrepreneurs. The meeting of foreign ministers will include European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn.
Additionally, the interior ministers will meet separately to discuss “priority security issues such as information exchange and cooperation, the issue of illegal possession, use, and trafficking of firearms, as well as human trafficking, forced labor and migration, and corruption and security.” Minister Božinović is expected to hold bilateral talks with colleagues from Serbia and Slovenia on the sidelines of the meeting.
On the second day of the summit, Tuesday, leaders from the involved countries, including Plenković, will gather, and the meeting will be opened by British Prime Minister Theresa May as the host.
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The London gathering includes six Balkan countries aspiring for EU membership – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, seven EU member states involved in the Berlin Process – Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and Poland – the United Kingdom as the host, and Bulgaria, which hosted a summit between the EU and Western Balkan countries in Sofia in May 2018.
This is the fifth annual summit in a row of the EU-Western Balkans – after the first summit in Berlin, three more meetings were held in Vienna, Paris, and Trieste.
Plenković stated in Sofia on Saturday, announcing his participation in the EU-Western Balkans summit, that the most important topic for Croatia is connectivity, which should in the future be “project-wise present in the relations of several EU countries and Southeast neighboring states.”
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“Croatia believes that every such meeting is a plus,” said Plenković, reminding that the EU has made a decision to open negotiations with Albania and Macedonia. “We want to support Bosnia and Herzegovina on its European path; that is our strategic goal, and we will work on it,” added the Croatian Prime Minister.
He emphasized that in 2019, Croatia will host a summit with China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries (16+1), and that Croatia currently presides over the Council of Europe and the Central European Initiative, and will take over the EU presidency in 2020.
“Thus, the dynamics of important, significant, strongly positioning activities of Croatia in foreign policy is very clear and visible,” emphasized Plenković.
The British Foreign Office announced that the main goals of the summit are to strengthen economic stability through improving the business environment and regional connectivity, enhancing regional security, including the fight against corruption, organized crime, human trafficking, drug and arms trafficking, terrorism, and violent extremism, as well as facilitating political cooperation to resolve bilateral issues more quickly.
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The summit coordinator, British diplomat Andrew Page, recently stated in an interview with Hina that the United Kingdom, despite Brexit, wants to be a “significant, lasting, and reliable” partner of the EU, especially in security matters, and that London is strongly interested in the stability and economic progress of Southeast Europe.
“The original focus of the Berlin Process from the beginning has been on economic stability, helping Western Balkan countries connect their infrastructure – roads, railways, telecommunications,” said Page.
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He added that the very fact that the United Kingdom is hosting a summit with the Western Balkans despite Brexit is an opportunity for official London to show the world how it intends to continue to respect its “geostrategic obligations and responsibilities and that they will be equally important to it after leaving the EU as they were before.”
