Western Balkans summit to be held in Vienna on Thursday

The Western Balkans Summit will take place in Austrian capital city Vienna on Thursday with topics including regional cooperation, migration and anti-extremism on the agenda, according to the European Union (EU) on Wednesday.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, EU Vice President in charge of Energy Union Maros Sefcovic and Johannes Hahn, commissioner for the European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, will be present at the summit, the bloc's executive the European Commission said in a press release.

The upcoming summit will tackle issues such as regional cooperation, migration, the economic situation in the Western Balkans, civil society, connectivity, youth and vocational education, religious dialogue and anti-extremism, the Commission said.

Mogherini was quoted to say "The Western Balkans region faces many challenges, from the urgency to tackle security and migration issues to the need to address economic and political difficulties in many countries."

"The Western Balkans Summit in Vienna will give us an important opportunity not only to discuss the present challenges, but also our common future," she added.

Ahead of the summit, the Commission on Wednesday also released an additional 1.5 million euros (1.71 million U.S. dollars) in humanitarian funding to assist refugees and migrants in Serbia and Macedonia.

Source: AFP