Borissov and Zaev to host the Berlin Process Summit

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev will host the Berlin Process Western Balkans Summit, which will take place online on 10 November.

The Berlin Process Summit of leaders is the final event on the calendar of this year’s Joint Chairmanship of the Berlin Process by the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia. While the event in Sofia is the seventh summit since the establishment of the process in 2014, it has a unique aspect. It is for the first time in the history of the Berlin Process that it is co-chaired by a member state of the European Union and by a state from the Western Balkans. Bulgaria assumed the responsibility to co-chair the process this year with the Republic of North Macedonia, as a natural continuation of our country’s effort during the preparation and execution of the Presidency of the Council of the EU to support the Western Balkan countries’ integration process and to achieve stability, peace and prosperity in the region.

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev will greet from Sofia the other participants in the online event, including the leaders of the Berlin Process states, officials from European institutions and other stakeholders – international and regional organizations such as the Regional Cooperation Council, CEFTA, OECD, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank and the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO). Participants in the Summit are to review achievements over the past year and to take consensual decisions that are important for the region and its European perspective.

Major success of the Co-Chairs – the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia – is the draft of the two declarations concerning the Common Regional Market and the Green Agenda that were drawn up given the strong support of the European Commission, the Regional Cooperation Council, CEFTA and the Process partners. The declarations that seek to further bring the region in line with the EU rules and standards are expected to be signed online within the Summit in Sofia by the Western Balkan countries’ leaders.

The Berlin Process for the Western Balkans is an initiative of political diplomacy launched personally by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel in August 2014. Participants in the Process are the countries of the Western Balkans – Albania, Serbia, the Republic of North Macedonia, Bosna and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo, and the following states: Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Poland, Greece and Bulgaria.

The idea behind the Berlin Process is to complement and support the European integration process of the Western Balkan countries. The process follows three main paths: economy and connectivity; reconciliation and good neighborly relations; security. The aim of the initiative is to generate conditions to conduce to optimize regional cooperation by means of initiatives and projects whose results have real and visible impacts on economic security and stability and bring the countries of the Western Balkans closer to the EU rules and standards.