Conference on Western Balkans Likely in March

EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton and Slovenian PM Borut Pahor have agreed that an international conference on the Western Balkans, which will likely be held in late March in Slovenia, would be a significant event for the region.

During talks at Brdo near Kranj in Slovenia, Pahor pointed out that the proposed meeting “will be crucial in several aspects,” while Ashton expressed her full support for the organisation of the conference.

“The goal of this conference is to look for solutions to some of the open issues in the region,” Tanjug news agency quoted Pahor as saying. He added, however, that expectations should be measured.

The conference, which would be the first meeting of all the political leaders in the region in 18 years, is an initative of Pahor and his Croatian counterpart, Jadranka Kosor.

Kosovo representatives are also scheduled to attend the event but will be “represented in an appropriate way,” Pahor said.

According to daily Vecernje Novosti, Ashton will visit Belgrade on February 18 and Kosovo a day later.
“The visit to the region, especially Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been scheduled,” spokesperson Luc Gilner told the daily.

Gilner said that Ashton’s visit to the region was planned to allow her to see the efforts that countries are investing on their EU path.