(AGENPARL) - Roma, 10 Marzo 2025 - (AGENPARL) – lun 10 marzo 2025 None [1] Press service ** European Parliament **
Press release 10-03-2025 None [2] European Parliament to establish Western Balkans office in Albania
The European Parliament will open an office in Albania to further strengthen its engagement with the Western Balkans.
In the context of heightened geopolitical tensions and renewed momentum behind EU enlargement, Parliament’s new office in Tirana will serve as a key contact point between the European Parliament and national parliaments, civil society, and local partners in the Western Balkans.
The office will promote Parliament’s positions and activities, particularly in relation to EU accession, and will support democracy and institutional reforms in the region. It will also assist with the preparation and follow-up of official visits by MEPs, while reinforcing cooperation with other EU actors on the ground, and with international and civil society organisations.
The European Parliament has consistently supported the Western Balkans’ European perspective, recognising its strategic importance for regional stability and the wider European project. The establishment of the antenna office reflects the EU’s broader strategy of deepening engagement with candidate countries. The vital need to strengthen the EU’s partnerships in the Western Balkans has become all the more clear given the current geopolitical challenges, not least Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The establishment of an EP antenna office in Tirana underscores Parliament’s strong commitment to supporting countries of the Western Balkans on their path towards EU membership, while fostering stability, democracy, and closer ties between the EU and its neighbours.
Background*
Currently, Parliament has three operational antenna offices: in New York, for relations with the United Nations; in Jakarta, for relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations; and in Addis Ababa, for relations with the African Union. The move to open two additional antenna offices (in Albania and Moldova) follows an earlier decision by Parliament’s Bureau to establish offices in Kyiv, Ukraine, and in Panama, to deal with relations with Latin America and the Caribbean.
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