Can Western Balkan leaders forge closer ties with the EU?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday welcomed the heads of six Western Balkan states during a Berlin summit aimed at forging closer ties between those nations and the EU. 

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen as well as representatives from nine EU Member States and international organizations also took part in the talks. 

The aim of the summit is to gradually bring Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia closer to the EU. 

Of those six countries, only Kosovo is not an official candidate for EU membership. The 27-member Union has not admitted a new member since Croatia in 2013. 

An action plan for a common regional market and a new mobility agreement, including access to higher education, is set to be signed at the summit.  

EU officials have said in the past that the war in Ukraine and other geopolitical concerns highlight the importance of a strategic partnership between the EU and the Balkans. 

The Western Balkan summits – known as the Berlin Process – have been held annually since 2014. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is also reportedly travelling to the summit, according to a Hungarian spokesperson. 

He said Hungary had been invited t the meeting “due to its influence in the Western Balkans and its current presidency of the EU council.”