Because of coronavirus, the video conference is replacing a physical summit that was to have taken place in Zagreb on May 6-7.
The virtual meeting will be chaired by European Council President Charles Michel. It will be followed by a joint press conference attended by Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic representing the presidency of the Council of the EU.
The meeting will also be attended by European Parliament President David Sassoli, EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy High Representative Josep Borrell, and representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the Regional Cooperation Council.
Besides the leaders of the 27 member states, participation in the meeting has been confirmed by prime ministers Edi Rama of Albania and Oliver Spasovski of North Macedonia and presidents Hashim Thaci of Kosovo, Milo Djukanovic of Montenegro and Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency Chairman Sefik Dzaferovic.
Participants will adopt the Zagreb Declaration, whose draft says the EU once again confirms its clear support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans and that Western Balkan partners have reiterated their commitment to the European perspective as a firm strategic choice.
As the participants in the conference speak, they will sit before a neutral background without any state insignia or names of states displayed, with only the speakers' names shown. According to diplomatic sources, this was done at the request of Spain, which does not wish to attend meetings at which Kosovo is mentioned as a state.
For the same reason, the declaration does not name the Western Balkan states or use the term "state", mentioning only "Western Balkan partners". The declaration does not mention enlargement, membership or integration either.
Five of the 27 EU states do not recognise Kosovo - Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia and Spain. Spain is the most vocal opponent to the recognition of Kosovo's independence.
Several other member states are quite sceptical about further enlargement, such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, and Germany to some extent.
The virtual meeting is taking place 20 years after the 2000 Zagreb Summit, which was the first meeting of EU leaders outside the EU. Another EU-Western Balkan summit was held in Thessaloniki in 2003, followed by another one in Sofia in 2018.
Serbia and Montenegro are currently conducting accession negotiations. A little over a month ago, the Council of the EU decided to open negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. BiH has applied for membership in 2016 and the Commission has set a long list of tasks which BiH must do in order to be granted candidate status. As for Kosovo, its citizens are the only ones in the region needing a visa to enter the EU.
Initially, the Commission was to have presented at the virtual meeting an economic and investment plan for the region aimed at kickstarting long term recovery and economic growth as well as supporting reforms necessary for progress towards EU membership. Due to coronavirus, however, this has been postponed.
According to the draft declaration, a new stage of close cooperation in dealing with the socio-economic effects of the coronavirus crisis will follow after the measures imposed to curb the pandemic end.
The Commission is called on to define a strong economic and investment plan for the region aimed at boosting the economy and its competitiveness, the draft says, adding that investment is of the greatest importance for stimulating the region's long term recovery and supporting reforms that are necessary on the European journey and for removing inequalities by bringing benefit to the region more quickly.
The Western Balkans should transform into functioning market economies capable of integrating into the European single market, says the draft declaration, which also voices willingness to cooperate in dealing with misinformation and other hybrid activities, notably from third states which are trying to undermine the region's European perspective.
The draft says that preventing and confronting terrorism and extremism, including funding, radicalisation and the return of foreign warriors, demand special attention.
The EU reiterates its call on Western Balkan partners to make progress towards full alignment with the EU's foreign policy positions, notably when it comes to common interests, and to act accordingly. This is an obvious concession to Serbia because earlier drafts and previously adopted documents called for aligning, not making progress towards alignment. Although it is negotiating membership, Serbia refuses to apply the sanctions the EU imposed against Russia over its role in the Ukraine war.
The draft declaration calls on Western Balkan partners to make resolute efforts towards reconciliation as well as final and binding solutions to bilateral disputes and issues stemming from the past in line with international law and the succession agreement.
The EU is willing to actively support Western Balkan efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic and deal with its effects on societies and economies. Last week, the Commission said the EU and the European Investment Bank would allocate over €3.3 billion for Western Balkan citizens for that purpose.
The fact that this support and cooperation far surpass everything that any other partner has given the region deserves public recognition, the draft declaration says, adding that the EU also acknowledges the valuable support the Western Balkans has extended its neighbours and the EU during the pandemic.
That reflects the solidarity and mutual support on which the EU is founded and this support and coordination should continue in the future, including during the exit and recovery stages, the document says.