EU-Western Balkans summit in Tivat: 42 delegations, focus on dialogue
Preparations for the EU-Western Balkans summit on 5 June in Tivat are in their final phase, with 42 delegations expected and the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue topping the agenda.
- The EU-Western Balkans summit will be held on 5 June 2026 in Tivat, the first such event in Montenegro's history.
- The host is Montenegro's President Jakov Milatovic, with 42 delegations expected.
- The agenda will be led by the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, accession talks and regional security.
- The hub of the event is Porto Montenegro, with part of the town under a special security regime.
The EU-Western Balkans summit will be held on 5 June 2026 in Tivat, the first event of this rank in Montenegro’s history. The host is Jakov Milatovic, President of Montenegro, with 42 delegations and around 300 international and domestic media representatives expected.
The hub will be Porto Montenegro, with part of the town placed under a special security regime, and traffic on a section of the Adriatic Highway suspended during the summit. The organising committee, led by the Cabinet of the President of Montenegro, says part of the programme will be closed to the public.
Confirmed delegations
European arrivals are expected to include:
- Antonio Costa, President of the European Council
- Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
- Emmanuel Macron, President of France
- Friedrich Merz, Chancellor of Germany
- Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain
- Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy
From the Western Balkans, the attendance of President Aleksandar Vucic, North Macedonia’s President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Prime Minister Borjana Krsto, the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, the President of Albania and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti is expected.
Summit agenda
Under Montenegro’s presidential protocol, the talks will focus on three points. First, the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and the status of normalisation after the recent meetings at Peter Sorensen. Second, the status of accession talks for Western Balkan countries under the EU’s new methodology. Third, regional security, including energy stability and migration routes.
Montenegro and Albania expect to be flagged as the closest candidates for closing accession chapters, while Serbia and North Macedonia expect clearer signals on the continuation of talks after the electoral legislation is adopted.
The Tivat summit is an opportunity not to treat the Western Balkans as a single geographic label but as six different countries with different speeds and different agendas, reads a preparatory document from the Montenegrin Presidency.
What Belgrade expects
The Office of the President of Serbia has announced a working meeting with Ursula von der Leyen on the margins of the summit. Sources close to the organisers say Belgrade wants talks on the economic dimension of sanctions regimes against Russian companies in Serbia, particularly in the energy sector.
Brussels has signalled that the summit is also a chance to open talks on the EU Growth Plan for Serbia, in light of pre-election commitments on ODIHR recommendations that the Assembly debated in May.
Security and logistics
According to Montenegro’s Interior Ministry, over 2,000 police officers will be deployed in Tivat, with coordination with the security services of attending leaders’ countries at the highest level. The airspace above Tivat will be closed during the summit.
Will the Tivat summit move the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue out of the current stalemate, or defer it to autumn?
