Frustrated Balkans seek reassurance at EU summit

Western Balkan countries can expect reassurances but no concrete progress on their stalled bids for European Union membership when EU leaders meet Wednesday. The 27-nation club is set to talk up economic support worth billions of euros for its eastern neighbors at a summit at Brdo castle, in Slovenia, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency. Brussels is keen to show it remains the strategic region's best hope. But there will be no breakthroughs at the meeting with the leaders of Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo on the tortuous path toward membership. And concern is growing that frustration at years of waiting in vain for the EU's doors to open could push some candidate countries closer to Russia and China.

"It's a good moment for us to be assertive, and make clear that the European Union continues to be the region's biggest donor."

an EU official said.

"The European Union continues to be the region's main investor, and the European Union continues to be the closest trading partner."The EU's push for enlargement - once a key policy for the bloc - has ground to a halt in recent years. Some richer member nations fear sparking a new wave of migration and some applicants are struggling with the required reforms.

France, Denmark and the Netherlands initially blocked accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia in 2019.Bulgaria has since become the main obstacle to progress, refusing to let North Macedonia start the process because of a dispute over history and language.During a tour of the region last week, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she hoped to see talks open with North Macedonia and Albania this year, after elections in Bulgaria.