The six EU candidates in the Western Balkans are Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The EU countries leading the Berlin Process are Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Poland and Slovenia. The EU Commission and international financial institutions are also on board, because the Berlin Process – independent of the regular stabilization and accession process – promotes specific regional projects, for example in the transport and energy sectors.
In addition to Schallenberg, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who already met with Albanian politicians on Sunday, and EU Council President Charles Michel, were among those expected to be in Tirana on Monday. The first of two working sessions deals with a common regional economic market and its connection to the EU internal market, the second working session focuses on digitalization and the “green shift”. The Working Lunch focuses on the often conflictual relations between many of the Western Balkan states.