The EU summit is expected to reiterate the ‘European perspective’ for the Balkans

For this, a draft of conclusions has already been prepared that will be approved at this meeting of the European Council, a draft to which Radio Free Europe has also had access.

But, as things stand at the moment, apart from the political messages for accelerating the integration of the countries of the region with the EU, no concrete decisions are expected regarding the start of membership negotiations with Albania and Northern Macedonia, or any other concrete decision regarding the region. Western Balkans.

“The European Union expresses its full and unequivocal support for the prospect of EU membership for the Western Balkans and calls for the acceleration of the accession process,” reads the draft document to be presented at the summit.

The meeting will invite the European Commission, the High Representative and the Council to “further advance the gradual integration between the European Union and the region during the process of enlargement in a reversible and merit-based manner”.

In this document, a special paragraph is dedicated to the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and the resolution of bilateral disagreements between the countries of the region.

“The European Council reaffirms the urgency of making significant progress in resolving outstanding bilateral and regional issues, in particular in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo,” the draft said.

The meeting of the leaders of the Western Balkans and the EU will take place on Thursday morning.

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, has confirmed her participation in this summit.

“At the meeting of EU and Western Balkan leaders, President Osmani will convey the clear message of the people of Kosovo on the need to accelerate the integration process, starting from the stagnant visa liberalization, to the support for the status of the country. candidate for the Republic of Kosovo, after the application “, it is said in the announcement of the Presidency of Kosovo.

The European Commission since 2018 has recommended visa liberalization for the citizens of Kosovo, but the decision of the European institutions on this issue has not yet been taken.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the participating countries of the “Open Balkans” have said that on Wednesday, they will announce whether they will go to the European Union-Western Balkans Summit. The “Open Balkans” initiative includes Albania, Serbia and Northern Macedonia.

So far, the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, has confirmed his presence at the EU Summit, which will be held on June 23 and 24.

In the draft conclusions prepared for the summit, the idea of ​​creating a European Political Union is also discussed.

“The Council held a strategic discussion on the European Union’s relations with partners in Europe. Discussed the proposal for the creation of a European Political Community. The aim is to provide a platform for political coordination of European countries across the continent. “It can be valid for the countries of the Western Balkans, the countries associated with the eastern neighborhood, the EFTA countries and all the countries with which we have close ties,” said the conclusions expected to be adopted by EU leaders. -së.

The idea goes on to say that “the aim is to strengthen political dialogue and cooperation to address issues of common interest in order to increase the security, stability and prosperity of the European continent.”

It is important to note that the creation of such a European Political Community will not replace the current EU enlargement process:

“Such a framework will not replace existing policies and instruments, more precisely enlargement, and will respect EU autonomy in decision-making.”

This will be the last EU summit during the French Presidency, and after it, from July 1, the Czech Republic will have the presidency of the European Union./REL

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