Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met in Athens with the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, where they discussed the process of integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union.
The meeting took place at an important moment for enlargement, after the EU’s decision to create the working group that will draft the Accession Treaty with Montenegro.
The importance of Albania in the expansion process was also highlighted in the discussion. Mitsotakis underlined that Greece has close ties with Albania and that its integration into the EU is a strategic interest for the region.
Marta Kos reinforced this point, stressing that Albania has made important steps in its reforms and that the support of member countries, especially Greece, is essential for speeding up the process.
Mitsotakis stressed that Greece has for many years been an ardent supporter of enlargement and that his country has a strong interest in the integration of the region, given its close ties with its neighbors.
“We haven’t made the progress we’d like, but we’re seeing new momentum. Two of the candidate countries are our immediate neighbors and we have a strong interest in the integration of the Western Balkans into Europe,” he said.
For her part, Commissioner Kos described Greece as a very important partner in the enlargement process, especially considering the upcoming Greek presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2027.
“We cannot succeed in the enlargement process without the presidency. Greece has always given a new impulse, as evidenced by the Thessaloniki agenda in 2003,” Kos said.
She also cited yesterday’s decision on Montenegro as a historic development, noting that after 17 years a working group was created for the first time to draft an accession treaty.
