Proceedings of the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Tirana, Prime Minister Edi Rama, President of the European Council, Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen appear in a media conference.

During his speech, the President of the Council of Europe, Charles Michel, said that the organization of this summit in Tirana is a “historic” moment, as he emphasized that real progress has been made.

“Historical meeting during which we write history. For the first time, the Summit takes place in a Western Balkan country. This meeting today is important because it contains additional steps on the path of integration. The future will be more prosperous with the Western Balkans within the EU. There are expectations that reforms in the field of the rule of law, justice and the fight against corruption will continue. The EU must strengthen capacities to strengthen the common market. The Roaming Agreement will make it possible to eliminate Roaming costs next year and in the horizon of 2027. Concrete progress has been made to face together the negative consequences of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. There have been serious consequences in the field of energy, economy and food supply. That is why it is important to have a financial package to help the Western Balkans. This is a challenging topic and we face difficulties in increasing the numbers, so this cooperation in the Western Balkans is essential. We were able to make some kind of progress. We know that additional decisions must be made and further progress must be made,” he said.

/k.s/