On November 3, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosts in Berlin the leaders of the six countries of the Western Balkans and those of the EU, as part of the “Berlin Process”.

The leaders of the Western Balkans will sign three agreements for the mutual recognition of identity cards, university diplomas and professional qualifications.

A government official in Berlin told Reuters that these are moves towards further integration and stability in the region, where even after the breakup of Yugoslavia and the inter-ethnic wars of the 1990s, tensions have not ended.

The German official said that the goal is to bring Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania closer to membership in the European Union, due to fears of the ever-increasing influence of Russia and China in the region.

/Klara Ruci/