Costa: Future of Western Balkans is in EU

BRUSSELS - The future of the Western Balkans is in the EU, European Council President Antonio Costa said in Brussels on Tuesday evening after an informal dinner with Western Balkan leaders, also attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

"Let’s work to make it happen," Costa wrote in a post on X.

"This is the message I delivered, together with (EU foreign and security policy chief) Kaja Kallas and (Enlargement Commissioner) Marta Kos, at today’s dinner with Western Balkans’ leaders," he added.

According to an EU official who wished to remain unnamed, Costa and the Western Balkan leaders discussed the latest developments in the region and the wider European context, as well as ways to best support partners in getting as close to the EU as possible and making progress in the EU accession process.

The official added that Costa had invited the six leaders to the informal dinner at a time the EU was embarking on a new cycle of leadership and a new strategic agenda, with enlargement as a geostrategic priority.

The objective of the dinner, also attended by Kallas and Kos, was for Costa to meet with the Western Balkan leaders at the very beginning of his term and confirm his commitment to lending a new impetus to relations with the region.

The dinner was also an opportunity to prepare for an EU-Western Balkans summit in Brussels, scheduled for December 18.

Before the dinner, Costa also met with Vucic, who was on a one-day visit to Brussels and also spoke with several other EU officials.