After the preceding summits in Berlin (2014) and Vienna (2015), this year the annual Western Balkans Summit was held in France for the first time. The aim of the meeting, chaired by President Francois Hollande, was to “accompany the efforts” of the region in its process of “rapprochement” to the European Union by reinforcing “concrete initiatives” of regional cooperation. The summit was hosted at the Élysée Palace and was attended by 12 Countries – 6 Balkan Countries and 6 EU Member States – including Italy, with Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, in addition to Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and important international financial institutions like the EBRD and the EIB.
The “concrete initiatives” include developing transport and energy infrastructures, boosting trade and youth mobility between the Balkans and the EU. The Summit took stock of the European perspectives, especially in consideration of the current migration crisis and the fight against terrorism.
On the sidelines of the event, Minister Gentiloni announced that the next Western Balkans Summit will be held in Italy in the summer of 2017.
Talking to the press on the sidelines of the Summit, the Italian Foreign Minister said: “We will persist with the commitments we are working on and we will add typically Italian elements like the cultural dimension on the one hand and, on the economic front, cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises which are very numerous in the Western Balkans region.” Mr Gentiloni continued: “We are the Western Balkans’ second-largest trade partner after Germany, with trade volumes for over 20 billion euros. Therefore improving relations with the Western Balkans is not only a geopolitical and strategic interest of Italy, connected to the immigration crisis and the fight against terrorism, but it also represents a huge economic interest.”
