The European Union is preparing a new high-level summit with six Western Balkan partners, putting enlargement, economic integration and regional security back at the centre of its geopolitical agenda. European Council President António Costa says the region’s future lies in the EU, but Brussels wants faster reforms and concrete results.
BRUSSELS, Oct. 23 (BalkanView) – European Union and Western Balkan leaders will meet in Brussels on November 25 for a summit aimed at accelerating EU enlargement, assessing economic integration and strengthening regional security amid growing geopolitical uncertainty, the European Council announced on Friday.
The meeting will bring together EU leaders and representatives of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, reaffirming the bloc’s commitment to the region’s European future.
European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will represent the EU at the summit.
“The Western Balkans’ future is in the European Union. Their accession is our priority, our shared ambition and a crucial geopolitical investment in these turbulent times,” Costa said in a statement.
“The EU is and will remain the most reliable partner of the region.”
The summit will focus on the progress made by Western Balkan partners towards membership, the implementation of reforms and opportunities to deepen their integration with the EU before accession.
Brussels wants reforms, not just commitments
According to the European Council, the summit will encourage Western Balkan governments to accelerate reforms and fulfil the commitments required to advance their respective EU membership processes.
Although all six partners share a European perspective, they are at different stages of integration, reflecting differences in institutional reforms, political conditions and progress in accession negotiations.
The November meeting will provide an opportunity to assess those differences and reaffirm the EU’s enlargement objectives.
The emphasis on concrete reforms reflects Brussels’ approach of linking progress towards membership to the fulfilment of political, economic and institutional requirements.
The summit announcement does not specify new accession deadlines or guarantee progress in individual countries’ negotiations.
Growth Plan takes centre stage
A major item on the agenda will be the EU’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which aims to accelerate economic convergence and gradually integrate regional economies into parts of the EU’s single market.
Leaders will assess progress under the initiative and discuss how to advance its implementation.
The Growth Plan is intended to help Western Balkan economies benefit from closer integration with the EU before becoming full members, while linking financial support and market access opportunities to agreed reforms.
Its implementation is particularly relevant to businesses, investors and citizens across the region, where economic convergence with EU member states remains a central challenge.
The Brussels summit will examine how existing commitments can translate into further progress in regional economic integration.
Security and geopolitical challenges on the agenda
Beyond enlargement and economic cooperation, EU and Western Balkan leaders will discuss common security challenges and ways to strengthen resilience.
The European Council said the discussions would take place against an increasingly complex geopolitical backdrop.
The Western Balkans occupies a strategically important position in Europe, making regional stability, political cooperation and security an important part of the EU’s broader agenda.
The summit is expected to address how the EU and its regional partners can cooperate more closely in responding to shared challenges.
The announcement does not identify specific security measures or agreements expected to emerge from the meeting.
A follow-up to the Tivat summit
The Brussels meeting follows the previous EU-Western Balkans summit held in Tivat, Montenegro, on June 5, 2026.
Ahead of that gathering, Costa travelled through the region from June 1 to 4, meeting Western Balkan leaders to discuss enlargement, gradual integration, regional cooperation and security.
The November summit will provide another opportunity to assess developments since those discussions.
Regular EU-Western Balkans summits have been held since 2018, providing a political forum for engagement between the EU institutions, member states and regional partners.
The upcoming meeting also forms part of the implementation of the European Council’s 2024–2029 Strategic Agenda, which identifies enlargement and Europe’s geopolitical role among its priorities.
What the summit means for the Western Balkans
For the six Western Balkan partners, the November meeting will be an opportunity to seek greater clarity on the next steps towards EU membership.
The agenda highlights three interconnected priorities: accelerating reforms, advancing economic integration and strengthening security cooperation.
While the summit itself will not determine accession outcomes, it could provide political direction for the next phase of cooperation between Brussels and the region.
The central question is whether renewed EU political commitments and reform efforts by Western Balkan governments will translate into measurable progress towards membership.
With enlargement increasingly framed as a geopolitical priority, the November 25 summit will test how the EU and its Western Balkan partners intend to turn that ambition into practical results.