Albania And 5 Countries Of Tribulence Sambangi Britain Discuss Security And Russia
JAKARTA - The leaders of six Western Balkan countries are scheduled to meet with British and European officials in London today Wednesday 22 October.
They will discuss migration, security, and economic growth in the volatile region, where the shadow of Russia has a strong influence.
The meeting of the Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia delegations has also been part of the Berlin Process since 2014, namely efforts to help these Southeast European countries become members of the European Union.
The only Western Balkan country to join the European Union is Croatia, which became a member of the EU in 2013.
While the process of becoming part of the EU for other countries is stalled, it is still in the process stage. On the one hand, in recent years, tensions have risen between Serbia and Kosovo, the former Serbian province whose independence was not recognized by Belgrade.
The EU's openness to accepting new members has progressed since Russia's massive invasion of Ukraine in 2022. There are concerns that the war in Ukraine and Russia's increasingly deepening confrontation with the West could spread to an area still hit by its own conflicts.
SEE ALSO:
Britain hosted the annual summit despite leaving the European Union in 2020. The summit was also attended by representatives from several European countries and the European Union.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's centre-left government hopes that the inclusion of Western Balkan countries, which were commonly part oftenuated apart from Albania, strengthens the process of dealing with drugs, defense of Western Balkan countries against Moscow's interference, and - which is a special priority for Britain - curbing illegal migration.
It is also based on the smuggling of hundreds of thousands of people into the European Union by gangs through West Balkans in recent years. Britain noted that a quarter of migrants reached its country by small boats through Western Balkan countries.