EU - Western Balkans Summit in Sofia Began

The historic EU - Western Balkans summit in Sofia began on 17^th of May. Leaders of the 28 EU member states negotiate with the Western Balkan countries.

This is the biggest event within the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, a meeting in this format is happening for the first time in 15 years. Hosted by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, he personally welcomed the leaders of France, Germany and the UK. The main topic of the talks today is the connectivity of the Western Balkan countries and digital security.

Will political leaders reach an agreement? Will the integration of the six countries in the region become an irreversible process and will politicians sign a declaration that will launch the Sofia Plan for the Western Balkans - these are the questions the answers of which are expected today.

Upon entering the meeting, European Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said that each country should do the homework and then will have European prospects.

"Everyone has the same starting point - all the countries of the Western Balkans. But, of course, the road is individual, it depends on the individual countries, how fast they will move forward on the road to Europe We have set a date. We are serious", said Johannes Hahn.

Estonian Prime Minister, Jüri Ratas, hopes the summit will be very positive and useful. "Today we have a very important meeting: people-to-people contacts, better transport, better connectivity are so important to us in the EU and in the Western Balkans" said Ratas.

"We see a good perspective for the Western Balkan countries, all these countries have to make their way to the EU, these countries are not only geographically but emotionally part of Europe," said Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. In his words, the Austrian position is very clear - the country is supporting these countries on their way to the EU. "We start our presidency as of July 1st, and we will seek to support them in their path, especially for Serbia and Montenegro, and we hope that Macedonia and other countries will resolve their disputes with each other," he said.

"We should work to protect security in the Western Balkans," said European Parliament President Antonio Tajani. According to Tajani, agreement can be reached today about the 2025 timeframe as a prospect for the European Union to expand in this region.

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said it is a good sign that everyone understands how important the Western Balkans are. "Of course, everyone has their worries about who is ahead, who is behind. 15 years after the meeting in Thessaloniki, where Bulgaria and Romania were given a perspective - today we have the opportunity to talk again about this topic," PM Boyko Borissov said before the start of today's EU-Western Balkans meeting.