Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend a dinner on Monday with leaders from Western Balkan countries and European Union chiefs to discuss the bloc’s enlargement process.
(Bloomberg) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend a dinner on Monday with leaders from Western Balkan countries and European Union chiefs to discuss the bloc’s enlargement process.
Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis will host the informal dinner Monday night along with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.
The discussions are part of a broader effort to keep those aspiring to join the EU close to the bloc, amid efforts by Moscow to wield its influence in the region and long-delayed membership processes — even as other nations like Ukraine inch forward. The meeting comes after European and Western Balkans leaders met to discuss enlargement in Tirana in June and will gather again in October in Granada, Spain.
The EU granted Ukraine and Moldova candidate status for EU membership last June, leap-frogging countries like Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in their path to join the bloc.
The leaders to attend the informal dinner include Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic, Montenegro’s President Jakov Milatovic, North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, Kosovo’s premier Albin Kurti, as well as the prime ministers from Bulgaria Nikolai Denkov, Croatia’s Andrej Plenkovic, Romania’s Ion-Marcel Ciolacu and Moldova’s President Maia Sandu. The head of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Council of Ministers, Borjana Kristo, will also join.
Zelenskiy’s trip comes after two North Atlantic Treaty Organization members said they would send fighter jets to Ukraine. Denmark pledged to send 19 F-16s to Kyiv and the Netherlands also said it would provide the jets.
–With assistance from Sotiris Nikas.
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