A two-day EU-Western Balkans summit opened in London on Monday with a meeting of the foreign ministers of six Balkan nations and representatives of civil society. It is the fifth summit of EU leaders, representatives of EU institutions and senior officials from the countries of Southeast Europe aspiring to join the European Union.

The summit is taking place as part of the Berlin Process, launched in 2014 on the initiative of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, to encourage the countries in the region to implement the necessary reforms, and to show that despite membership fatigue the European Union continues to keep its door open to new members.

Croatia is represented at the summit by Prime Minister, Andrej Plenkovic, Foreign Minister, Marija Buric-Pejcinovic, and Interior Minister, Davor Bozinovic.

The foreign ministers of EU countries and the Western Balkans nations are expected to meet later on Monday to discuss ways to strengthen economic stability, improve regional security cooperation, good-neighbourly relations, as well as cooperation on tackling the issue of migration.

The interior ministers will hold a separate meeting to discuss security issues, information exchange, the issue of illegal trafficking of firearms, human trafficking, forced labour, migration, and corruption.

On the margins of the meeting, Croatia’s Interior Minister Bozinovic is expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Serbia and Slovenia.

The leaders of the countries involved, including Croatian Prime Minister Plenkovic, will attend a joint meeting on Tuesday, to be opened by British Prime Minister Theresa May.

The summit is attended by six Balkan countries aspiring to join the EU – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia; seven EU member states involved in the Berlin Process – Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Slovenia; the United Kingdom as the host; and EU member Bulgaria, which hosted an EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia in May.

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