Several former presidents and prime minister of a few southeast European countries on Friday met in the capital of Montenegro to set up the Podgorica Club, with the intention of offering a common vision of how the Western Balkans can be integrated into the European Union.

The club’s founders include former presidents Filip Vujanovic of Montenegro, Branko Crvenkovski of Macedonia, and Danilo Tuerk of Slovenia, and former prime ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia, Zlatko Lagumdzija, Jadranka Kosor, and Mirko Cvetkovic respectively.

The club, which was founded as a voluntary and non-profit organisation, will aim to contribute to developing good relations, regional cooperation and the affirmation of the region in the international community, with full respect to the countries individual values, the club’s founding act said.

“The club will be dedicated to prosperity, good relations and affirmation of European values in the club’s member countries, as well as in the region and Southeast Europe, to which they belong,” the club’s founding act said.

Former Montenegrin president Vujanovic said at a news conference that the club’s country members supported the EU Strategy for the Western Balkans by 2025, which identified the Western Balkans countries as EU partners.

Former Croatian Prime Minister, Jadranka Kosor said at the news conference that the formation of this club was another step in building a bridge towards the EU.

“And not just towards the EU, but building firmer bridges of cooperation between our countries, which are not always as strong as we’d like them to be,” she said.

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