The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, begins her four-day trip to the Western Balkans on Wednesday. The first stop is Albania, where she will hold talks with top officials.

The main topic of her talks with officials in Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro will be enlargement.

“This will be an opportunity to discuss the progress of our partners in the Western Balkans on the road to the EU and the EU’s €6bn growth plan,” the European Commission said on Tuesday.

On Thursday, she will travel to Skopje, where she will meet with North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova.

Fourth visit to the EU accession candidates of the Western Balkans

Later on Thursday, the EU Commission President will visit Jablanica, a municipality most affected by the floods that recently hit Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On Friday morning, she will travel to Sarajevo, where she will meet with the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Chair of the Council of Ministers, Borjana Kristo.

Later, the President will travel to Belgrade to meet with top Serbian officials.

On Saturday, President von der Leyen will meet the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, and Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Pristina.

The last stop on her journey is Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, where she will be received by President Jakov Milatovic and Prime Minister Milojko Spajic.

This is von der Leyen’s fourth visit to the Western Balkan states, which are applying for membership of the European Union.

Her predecessor Jose Manuel Baroso visited the region only once during his term of office.