Remarks by President Charles Michel at the press conference of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Brussels

We have just concluded the EU-Western Balkans Summit. This is the fourth summit of its kind in four years, and this shows the desire to give more strength and power to the relationship between the European Union and the Western Balkans.

Here are a number of messages conveyed in a political declaration we have adopted and which we are sharing with you. First, this was an opportunity to reaffirm, with strong political conviction, that the future of the Western Balkans lies within the European Union: this concerns a reaffirmation of the prospect of European Union membership for the six Western Balkans. We also wish to strengthen cooperation in all areas, and we have been able to discuss the idea of gradual integration in a very practical way with our colleagues, our partners in the Western Balkans, so as to bring the whole of that region closer to the EU, without awaiting the final decisions on enlargement. In this regard, the Growth Plan presented by the European Commission is an extremely useful instrument. Many leaders highlighted the importance of this instrument in the context of delivering on the aim of working more closely together. Equally, working on the Common Regional Market is a factor that should promote cooperation and coordination between these partners with a view to facilitating their rapprochement with the European Union.

So, the first point is gradual integration. The second concerns the economic dimension: increased investment; supporting economic growth. This is also a crucial point and many have highlighted the importance of energy cooperation. You will know that, when we were confronted with Russia’s blackmail in the energy sector, the European Union wanted to react very quickly as one, whilst making proposals for cooperation in this regard with the whole of the Western Balkans region.

A third priority for us is foreign policy and security. We want to work with those leaders to make sure that we have more alignment. We face extraordinarily difficult geopolitical challenges with the war launched by Russia against Ukraine. And that is why it is so important to speak with one voice, to act in the same direction and to do everything to protect our common values, to protect our interests. This is another field where we want to strengthen our cooperation.

We also want to cooperate more in the field of the fight against disinformation, cyber and hybrid attacks. We want to cooperate more and better in the field of migration. For example: visa policy is an important tool and we think that more cooperation in this field is also important.

Finally, one last word. The European Union's project is based on reconciliation. It is based on a common will for the future: to build more prosperity, more security, more peace, more stability. And that is why resolving disputes, resolving conflicts is so important. And that is why we have also encouraged all the leaders present to redouble efforts to resolve disputes and to resolve conflicts.