EU – Western Balkans Summit, Tirana

It was the first Summit between EU and Western Balkans leaders held in the Western Balkans region. The Summit provided an opportunity to reaffirm the crucial importance of the strategic partnership between the EU and the Western Balkans, a region with a clear EU perspective. At the end of the Summit, the Tirana Declaration was issued.
The Tirana Declaration reaffirms the EU’s full support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans. In this Declaration, EU leaders welcome the determination of Western Balkan partners to uphold core European values and principles, in line with international law.
Leaders discussed cooperation in light of the common challenges arising from Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine. The EU’s new energy support package will help the Western Balkans: to mitigate the impact of the energy crisis, with special support for vulnerable families and small and medium-sized enterprises, and to accelerate the energy transition and energy independence, particularly thanks to the REPower EU plan. In the Tirana Declaration, EU leaders recall their decision to open common markets for natural gas, liquefied natural gas and hydrogen to Western Balkan partners and encourage them to use this platform. EU leaders also call on Western Balkan partners to make rapid and steady progress towards full alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy and to act accordingly, including with regard to EU restrictive measures.
The Tirana Declaration highlights how the ongoing implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan and the Green and Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans will contribute to strengthening the region’s economy and resilience. The EU will also continue to support the agricultural sector while remaining the region’s main investor, trading partner and donor.
The EU and Western Balkans leaders are determined to accelerate and deepen their engagement at the policy-making and implementation level, with particular attention to youth. As stated in the Tirana Declaration “The EU (…) is already gradually connecting partners to EU programs such as Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps and the European Universities Initiative”.
EU and Western Balkans leaders also welcomed the agreement between telecom operators signed on the sidelines of the Summit. This will result in reduced roaming costs between the EU and Western Balkans in 2023, with the aim of fully eliminating them by 2027.
The Summit provided an opportunity to discuss coordinated actions on security and defense issues, which have become even more topical due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. These include combating foreign information manipulation and improving collective cybersecurity. The Tirana Declaration states that “The EU will continue to work with the region to further develop its defense capabilities and capacities, including through the European Peace Facility”.
With the Western Balkans having seen a significant increase in flows over the past year, leaders exchanged views on jointly addressing migration management. They discussed alignment with EU visa policy and cooperation on return systems, among other issues. Strong EU financial support will enable partners to: improve asylum and reception systems, strengthen border protection, combat smuggling networks and organized crime groups, accelerate returns from the Western Balkans to countries of origin. The Tirana Declaration states that “Migration management remains a common challenge and responsibility”.
Leaders also discussed how cooperation in counter-terrorism and prevention of radicalization can be strengthened.
The Summit is part of the implementation of the European Council’s strategic agenda for 2019-2024.