Brussels, 3 December 2024 (MIA) – Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski will attend Tuesday an informal working dinner, organized by the new President of the European Council, António Costa, for Western Balkan leaders. 

In addition to Mickoski, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović, Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željka Cvijanović, and the Prime Ministers of Albania and Kosovo, Edi Rama and Albin Kurti respectively, are also invited to the dinner.

Costa before the dinner will have bilateral talks with Mickoski, Rama, Cvijanović, Vučić and Kurti. On Wednesday, he is scheduled to meet with Osmani and Milatović.

The Western Balkan leaders were initially scheduled to meet with EU top officials for talks on the implementation of the European Commission’s Growth Plan for the region, but the meeting has been cancelled.

According to the new European Commission spokesperson for enlargement, international partnerships and the Mediterranean, Guillaume Mercier, the meeting being cancelled will not affect the process of disbursing the first tranche of the Western Balkans Growth Plan.

“We’re working to implement this process as soon as possible,” said Mercier adding the meeting hasn’t been rescheduled. 

In addition to meeting Costa, Vučić and Kurti today will hold separate meetings with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. Anitta Hipper, lead spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, said the meetings are not part of the process of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, mediated by the EU, but the process of normalisation of Serbia-Kosovo relations will be discussed alongside the latest tensions incited by Friday’s attack on a water canal in Zubin Potok in north Kosovo. 

MIA file photo