Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania on 30 September–2 October. During the visit, Minister Haavisto will meet his counterparts and other political leaders and representatives of civil society organizations.
Haavisto will have bilateral meetings with high-level political leaders in each of the countries. The topics of discussion will include EU enlargement, Finland's Presidency of the Council of the EU, bilateral relations, and the regional situation and cooperation in the Western Balkans, informed the Governments in a press release.
“Located at the heart of Europe, the Western Balkans is a region whose stability and wellbeing is in the interests of Finland, too. The EU’s enlargement is based on jointly agreed criteria. Potential candidate countries’ efforts to meet the accession criteria are supported, and it is important that the discussions continue. The necessary reforms required for fulfilling the convergence criteria will benefit the citizens of the countries even before the actual EU enlargement. Regional cooperation also plays a role in increasing stability and prosperity. Besides the governments of the countries, young people and civil society actors play key roles,” says Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto.
