Skopje, 5 October 2021 (MIA) — Slovenia will host a summit of heads of state and government of the EU member states and Western Balkan partners at Brdo near Kranj on Oct. 6, following an informal dinner of members of the European Council this evening hosted by the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša, according to an announcement by the Slovenian Presidency of the EU. The summit will be chaired by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, who will represent the EU together with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The Western Balkans and the credible continuation of the EU integration process is a long-term priority of Slovenia’s foreign policy and therefore also a priority of Slovenia as the member state holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union, which is why it was decided that it will host the EU-Western Balkans summit, the announcement reads. The summit aims at promoting a continuous debate on this topic at the highest level, both regarding improving sectoral cooperation and reducing the development gap between the EU and the region and regarding political messages on the region's geostrategic importance for the European Union and mutual commitments to a credible integration process. According to PM Janša, Slovenia’s EU Presidency will focus on EU cooperation with the Western Balkans region and the eastern neighborhood. “Slovenia knows very well from its own experience how important the European perspective is for the implementation of reforms in the process of accession. This perspective must be tangible and such that its fulfillment can be truly credible in the lifetime of the current generation, otherwise it is no longer any kind of incentive. “This tangibility must inspire and be the source of the political energy needed to implement urgent reforms at the political level. It must be a source of energy and a focus of citizens' political awareness, so that they can support the necessary bottom-up reforms. “Our goal is to reaffirm, revive and revitalize the European perspective for the Western Balkans, which was opened at the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003. “If we do this, we will prove that we are a strategic player in our neighborhood. If we are not able to do this, if we do not take a step forward in the Western Balkans, this step will be taken by someone else, someone with different interests and values,” Slovenia’s PM said. This evening, he will host members of the European Council at an informal dinner where they will exchange views on the EU's role in the world. mr/