The next EU-Western Balkans summit will be held on December 13 in Brussels.
This is what the EU announced on the official website, while the details of the agenda will be made public later.
This summit precedes the summit of the European Council, which will take place on December 14 and 15, 2023.
Brussels is stepping up its engagement with Balkan countries ahead of a tough summit of EU leaders, who have the final say on whether to press ahead with the Commission's enlargement proposals.
Two days ago, an EU-Western Balkans ministerial meeting was held in Brussels, which brought together EU foreign ministers and their counterparts from the Western Balkans.
This meeting was chaired by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, Josep Borrell.
The official website of the Council of Europe announced that the discussion focused on common security challenges against the backdrop of ongoing global and regional security threats.
Borrell underlined the importance of unity and strong cooperation with Western Balkan partners to build resilience and promote peace and stability on the continent. In this context, he recalled that the European Union relies on candidate countries as reliable partners in foreign, security and defense policy, including when it comes to alignment with EU decisions in these areas.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to exchange views on challenges in the region and its European future at a time when the EU's enlargement policy has gained new momentum and following the recent adoption of the Commission's enlargement reports assessing progress of each partner on its way to the EU.
High Representative Borrell reiterated the EU's continued strong support – political, technical and financial – to all candidates and potential candidates to help them advance key political, institutional, social and economic reforms.
In this regard, the new Growth Plan approved last week should enable the partners to increase reforms and investments to significantly accelerate the speed of the enlargement process and the growth of their economies.