Delphi, 22 April 2026 (MIA) - We express our determination, in the spirit and goals of the Thessaloniki Agenda, to actively advance the accession path of all Western Balkans partners and achieve tangible results during the Hellenic Presidency of the Council of the EU. In the months leading up to the Hellenic Presidency our common aim is to set new cornerstones towards the rapprochement and European integration of the Western Balkans, reads the Delphi Declaration on the European Integration of the Western Balkans, adopted during the Delphi Economic Forum on Wednesday, MIA reports from Athens.

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgios Gerapetritis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Zoran Dimitrovski, Albanian Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Ferit Hoxha, Kosovo's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Glauk Konjufca, Serbian Minister of European Integration Nemanja Starović, Montenegrin Deputy Minister for EU Ivan Ivanišević, as well as the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Greece, Dragan Vuković, adopted the declaration.

In light of the upcoming Hellenic Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2027, the declaration signatories pledge to intensify efforts towards regional and European integration, with a view to delivering concrete benefits to citizens and businesses across the region of the Western Balkans.

They recall on the 2003 Thessaloniki Agenda that laid the foundation for the European perspective of the Western Balkans, and reaffirm the shared commitment to the EU values of respect for human rights and human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, while reiterating that the future of the Western Balkans lies within the European Union.

"We underline the importance of integrating the Western Balkans into the EU as a strategic imperative for European security which aims to enhance resilience, autonomy, and readiness in the region and across Europe. We welcome in that vein the EU’s renewed focus on the enlargement process and on the EU integration of the Western Balkans, as a geostrategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity in our region and our continent. We stress the need for effective integration and tangible EU support to the Western Balkan partners in combatting hybrid threats and disinformation campaigns," reads the Delphi Declaration.

It reiterates the commitment to inclusive regional cooperation, reconciliation and good neighbourly relations as prerequisites for EU accession as well as key elements to building a common European future, and emphasizes the commitment to the effective implementation of the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans which should contribute to faster integration of the region with the EU internal market and should improve convergence between the economies.

"We call for the effective integration of the region into EU interconnectivity planning, with emphasis on energy, transport and digital interconnectivity. We highlight the need for transport integration in the Western Balkans, including the extension of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and the promotion of initiatives such as the Green Lanes, to connect the region with crucial transport corridors and supply chains, such as IMEC, the Western Balkans-Eastern Mediterranean Transport Corridor, Corridor VIII along the East-West axis, Corridor X and the Black Sea-Aegean Sea Vertical Corridor," reads the Declaration and calls for further trade facilitation between EU and Western Balkans and support efforts to enhance the flow of goods across EU borders.

Photo: MIA