Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Oliver Várhelyi, will be in Sofia on Tuesday 16 May to participate in the “EU meets the Balkans Forum” which will gather EU leaders, foreign ministers, policymakers, NGO representatives, and youth to discuss the European integration of the Western Balkans as well as the next steps towards enhanced regional cooperation. This year’s Forum is framed in the context of the 50^th anniversary of the first enlargement of the EU but also in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine as 14 months has passed since the beginning of the war.

Commissioner Várhelyi will address the conference on common challenges faced by the EU and the region.

In the margins of the Forum, Commissioner Várhelyi will hold bilateral talks with Rumen Radev, President of the Republic of Bulgaria, leaders of GERB and Change Continues (CC) / Democratic Bulgaria and Danijela Djurovic, President of the Parliament of Montenegro.

The Commissioner’s speech at the Forum as well as videos and pictures of the mission will be available on EbS.