European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Kosovo on October 15, as part of a regional tour that will also include other Western Balkan countries.
\nAccording to the agenda published by the European Commission, during her stay in Kosovo she will meet with President Vjosa Osmani and Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti.<\/p>\n
The published agenda does not specify the topics that the head of the European Commission will discuss with Osmani and Kurti.
\nVon der Leyen will start her Western Balkans tour on October 13 in Tirana, where she is expected to meet with Albanian President Bajram Begaj and Prime Minister Edi Rama, and attend the opening ceremony of the EU\u2013Western Balkans Investment Forum.<\/p>\n
On the same day, October 13, Von der Leyen will also visit Tivat, Montenegro, where she will meet with President Jakov Milatovi\u0107 and Prime Minister Milojko Spaji\u0107.
\nA day later, she will travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she is scheduled to meet with members of the Presidency, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers Borjana Kri\u0161to, and visit the Srebrenica Memorial Center.<\/p>\n
Before arriving in Kosovo on October 15, Von der Leyen will stop in Belgrade, where she will meet with Serbian President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 and Prime Minister \u0110uro Macut.
\nAfter her visit to Kosovo, she will conclude her regional tour in North Macedonia, where meetings are planned with President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, and Speaker of Parliament Afrim Gashi.<\/p>\n
The last time Von der Leyen visited Kosovo was in October of last year, when she discussed the EU\u2019s punitive measures imposed on Kosovo.
\nSince then, the European bloc has announced the gradual lifting of some of these measures, introduced in 2023 following heightened tensions in northern Kosovo, a region predominantly inhabited by ethnic Serbs.<\/p>\n
During that visit, the European Commission President praised Kosovo\u2019s progress on reform initiatives related to the EU Growth Plan.
\nHowever, Kosovo has not benefited from the plan so far, as the absence of functioning institutions has delayed the ratification of key international agreements.<\/p>\n
The \u20ac6 billion Growth Plan includes investments and reforms aimed at Western Balkan countries as part of the EU\u2019s reform agenda for the 2024\u20132027 period.
\nOf this amount, \u20ac2 billion will be provided as grants, while \u20ac4 billion will come in the form of highly favorable loans.
\nThe plan seeks to accelerate reforms and help prepare Western Balkan states for EU membership.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Kosovo on October 15, as part of a regional tour that will also include other Western Balkan countries. According to the agenda published by the European Commission, during her stay in Kosovo she will meet with President Vjosa Osmani and Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":80748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,1803],"tags":[150,243,151],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n