The opportunities, challenges and prospects of a better connection between Greece and the Western Balkans in the field of transport dominated a meeting held on Friday between Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Staikouras and the head of the Western Balkans Transport Community, Matej Zakonjsek.
The 9th Western Balkans Civil Society Forum, to be held in Thessaloniki on October 19-20, will bring together approximately 100 participants, including a broad range of civil society representatives from the EU and the Western Balkans, as well as representatives of EU institutions, international organizations and regional governments.
In what is seen as a message to Tirana on Thursday, European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said that accession to the European Union rests on “full respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday following a trilateral summit in Varna, Bulgaria that together with the prime ministers of Bulgaria Nikolai Denkov and of Romania Marcel Ciolacu “and the very useful” participation of European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas, “We reaffirmed the excellent relations between our countries. We agreed to deepen our cooperation at bilateral and multilateral level and in the wider region.”
European Union leaders have declared support for adding new members to the bloc but set no target date and warned candidates such as Ukraine that there would be no short cuts.
National Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis visited Tirana on Tuesday to take part in the Berlin Process meeting of economy ministers on the topic “Common Regional Market – A step toward the EU single market.”
The Kremlin said on Monday it was closely monitoring what it called a “potentially dangerous” situation in Kosovo, where ethnic Serb gunmen stormed a village at the weekend, battling police and barricading themselves into a monastery.
The recent gathering of Western Balkan leaders along with top European Union officials in Athens, following an invitation from Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (on the 20th anniversary of a summit between the EU and Western Balkan countries in the northern port city of Thessaloniki) was naturally overshadowed by the previously unannounced presence of Ukrainian […]
Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou arrived at Bled on Monday for the Bled Strategic Forum, at the invitation of Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar.
The presence in Athens of leaders from most of the countries of the Western Balkans, as well as others from the wider region, strengthens Greece’s leading role in the area.
The informal inner hosted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Balkan leaders and high-ranking European officials on Monday, and the visit to Athens of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seen in Greece as a reflection of its desire to serve as a bridge between Europe and the region.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met on Tuesday morning with the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, with the Greek leader reiterating Greece’s support to Moldova’s European perspective, government sources said.
Eleven leaders of Balkan countries including Greece meeting in Athens expressed their “unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, based on the values of democracy and rule of law” in the face of Russian aggression, on Monday night.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hosted on Monday evening an informal dinner with the leaders of the Western Balkans, Moldova, Ukraine and the EU, during which issues related to the bloc’s enlargement and the European future of the region was discussed on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the EU-Western Balkans Summit and the Declaration of Thessaloniki.
An unannounced meeting between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr is underway at the Prime Minister’s Maximos Mansion.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen uploaded a message on social media from Athens focusing on European enlargement on Monday ahead of the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens on the issue.
