Tirana, 4 October 2025 (MIA) – Western Balkan leaders, including Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, will meet Monday in Durres for the Brdo-Brijuni Summit where the Western Balkans’ European perspective will be the main topic with a focus on the region’s Growth Plan.

Launched in 2013, the Brdo-Brijuni Process is a joint Slovenian and Croatian initiative, whose members also include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia. 

The Durres Summit is organized by the presidents of Slovenia and Croatia, Nataša Pirc Musar and Zoran Milanović, and is hosted by the Albanian President, Bajram Begaj.

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović, members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željka Cvijanović, Denis Bećirović and Željko Komšić, Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić will attend the forum in Albania. 

The Brdo-Brijuni initiative aims at inciting mutual cooperation and facilitating the efforts of the countries in the region on their EU accession path. 

“This year’s meeting will be held under the motto ‘Common interests, common commitment to a common future: together toward the EU.’ Alongside the issue of the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries, the focus will also be on strengthening regional cooperation,” organizers said.

At the Durres Summit, Slovenia once again will highlight that EU enlargement with the Western Balkans is the most efficient geopolitical tool for providing stability, peace and security in the region.

Participants in the summit will largely focus on the implementation of the EU's Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which enables the countries of the region to gradually integrate into the EU and brings concrete benefits to their citizens. To this end, the EU has established a financial facility for the period 2024-2027, worth six billion euros.

North Macedonia is expected to receive over 750 million euros from the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans by the end of 2027, Kosovo 880 million, Albania 920 million, Serbia over 1.5 billion euros, Montenegro 380 million and Bosnia and Herzegovina around 900 million euros, after the European Commission cut their funds by ten percent due to delays in the plan.

Meetings as part of the Brdo-Brijuni initiative have been held annually since 2013. Montenegro hosted last year’s event, where the leaders, in a joint statement, emphasized the importance of good neighborly relations and regional cooperation and committed to further reforms, strengthening the strategic dialogue with the EU, and implementing the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans.

MIA file photo