Consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine, strengthening security and building resilience against foreign interventions in the region, migration challenges and the fight against terrorism and organized crime will be some of the main topics to be discussed on December 6 at the 27th summit EU member countries with Western Balkan partners, according to official sources from the European Union. 

This is the first summit between the leaders of the EU and the Western Balkans that will take place in the Western Balkans region. 

The summit is an opportunity to reaffirm the key importance of the strategic partnership between the EU and the Western Balkans. 

Discussions at today's meeting in Tirana are expected to focus on the negative effects on the regular supply of energy and food after the war in Ukraine. 

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced earlier that there is already financial support to help the countries in the Western Balkans face shortages and higher prices. 

"We have created a support package for energy that all together must mobilize at least 2.5 billion euros for the Region", said Várhelyi. 

EU leaders are expected today to propose an action plan for immigration, which foresees 20 operational measures structured in 5 pillars: 

1- Strengthening border management; 

2- Acceleration of asylum procedures; 

3- The fight against the smuggling of immigrants; 

4- Increasing cooperation for readmission and returns; 

5- Achieving the harmonization of visa policies 

The new migration action plan aims to strengthen cooperation on border management with partners in the Western Balkans in light of the prospect of EU membership. 

A delicate issue, the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU has returned to the top of the agenda after the war in Ukraine. The leaders of the EU and the Balkans will discuss today the ways of increasing economic and political cooperation, with a special focus on young people. 

They will also assess the progress made towards the integration of the Western Balkans with the EU internal market, the modernization of payment systems in line with EU standards and the implementation of "green lanes" an initiative to facilitate cross-border logistics and inter-regional trade. 

The summit will be an opportunity to discuss coordinated actions on security and defense issues, which have become even more important in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine. 

This includes combating information manipulation and improving collective cyber security. 

(Source: Monitor)