Ursula von der Leyen is on a multi-day tour of the Balkans. The European Commission president's first stop is in North Macedonia and will then be traveling to Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia. Brussels has been wooing these countries for years with EU membership, but integration has been very slow, if not stalled. Now, 2030 seems to be the newest target date, but many, both inside and outside the EU, are pessimistic about this.
Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Skopje on Sunday evening, which marked the start of the European Commission president's several-day tour of the Western Balkans. Upon her arrival, she met with North Macedonia President Stevo Pendarovski.
We discussed the progress of the EU membership negotiations and the country's current political situation with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Thank you for your commitment and support to our European integration process
Pendarovszki wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The host as well as the European leader expressed their satisfaction with the meeting. Von der Leyen stressed that she was happy to start her tour of the Western Balkans in Skopje, Blic Serbian daily newspaper reports.
