The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will visit the Western Balkans this week.
She will meet the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovačevski, in Skopje on Monday October 30. Later today she will travel to Pristina.
On Tuesday (October 31), she will meet Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović and caretaker Prime Minister Dritan Abazović. She will then meet Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
Von der Leyen will meet the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday in Sarajevo.
His trip through the Western Balkans follows his visit to Albania earlier this month.
And this comes a week before the annual report of the commission on the countries in the process of joining the bloc.
Eight countries currently have official EU candidate status, but Ukraine, Moldova and Western Balkans have become pioneers in this process.
On Monday and Tuesday, a “pre-COP28” meeting will bring ministers together in Abu Dhabi to prepare for the UN climate talks later this year, where almost 200 countries will lead negotiations to tackle climate change for more than two weeks.
European climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will also be there. On Tuesday, he is expected to meet Sultan Al Jaber, President of COP28.
EU leaders called for increased global action and ambition, stressing that limiting warming to around 1.5 degrees requires global greenhouse gas emissions. peak no later than 2025.
The 27-nation bloc is also expected to push for a global phase-out of fossil fuels, which would leave the door open for countries to continue using coal, oil and gas if they use technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) to offset emissions.
“The European Council calls for the broadest possible support for the global commitment to renewable energy and energy efficiency that will be presented by the European Union at COP28,” they also said in the conclusions of the summit last week.
Also on Monday and Tuesday, EU ministers responsible for tourism will hold an informal meeting in Spain to discuss a more sustainable approach to the sector.
On Thursday, November 2, von der Leyen will meet UN Secretary General António Guterres as part of the AI Security Summit 2023.
At the same time, several delegations of MEPs will also embark on a mission this week.
A delegation from the Commerce Committee will travel to San Francisco to discuss limitations in sectors such as semiconductors, the automotive industry and critical infrastructure.
Another group will travel to Mexico to talk about the EU-Mexico partnership and how to conclude the updated EU-Mexico trade deal.
Another group of MEPs from the Internal Market Committee will travel to Washington to discuss European legislation and US initiatives regarding the digital sector, political advertising and artificial intelligence.
On Tuesday, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, will inaugurate the European Experience in Paris and meet French President Emmanuel Macron.
The initiative to bring the European Union closer to citizens, using technology to explain how EU institutions and policymaking work. The Europa Experience is present in several European capitals, including Berlin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Vienna, Paris and Rome.
Delegations, made up of 87 national MPs, reflecting the political composition of the Nordic parliaments, will meet for the 75th session of the Nordic Council in Oslo, from Monday to Thursday.
NATO chief and former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg will address the gathering on Tuesday. The agenda includes a member’s proposal for a Nordic nuclear-weapon-free zone, how to accelerate the green transition and youth participation in democracy.