On 18 June, the AIE President Nikola Dobroslavić (County prefect of Dubrovnik Neretva) chaired the meeting of the CoR Working Group responsible for the relations with the Western Balkans countries.

The meeting was mainly focused on Albania and the involvement of local and regional authorities in the EU accession process. The members of the group discussed also about the sustainable recovery during the Covid 19 crisis.

In his presentation, Mr. Dobroslavić spoke about the importance to guarantee a continuous support to local and regional authorities in Albania through the European Committee of the Regions and its relevant bodies for cooperation. He spoke about the need to increase the visibility of the activities done at national and regional level and he proposed to establish a joint advisory committee with Albania.

Furthermore, the President expressed his confidence for the adoption of the negotiating framework for Albania and Macedonia by the EU Council, reiterating the need to support the EU accession of all the Western Balkan countries, which must be able to fulfill all the obligations required by the accession process.

The meeting was attended by the other members of the Working Group, namely the Deputy Ministers of Interior and Tourism of the Republic of Albania, the Ambassador of the Albanian Mission to the European Union, some experts from the European Commission and the Presidents of Albanian Regional Councils.

The main objective of the Working Group of the European Committee of the Regions for the Western Balkans is to promote dialogue and cooperation between European local and regional authorities and enlargement countries, and to support them on their path towards the EU. The group, chaired by Nikola Dobroslavić, was created in 2006 and currently is covering three counties: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.

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