Sofia Summit – Western Balkans commit to Green Deal Agenda and Common Regional Market

Balkan Green Foundation welcomes the signing of Declarations made on the Sofia Summit – Western Balkan Countries on the Green Deal Agenda for Western Balkan countries, as well as for a Common Regional Market. 

These achievements will serve as catalysts towards regional sustainable development and European Union Market. The agreement on Green Deal will have an important role in strengthening the basis for environmental protection, propelling regional traction in furthering sustainable development efforts, decarbonization, and clean energy transition.

Balkan Green Foundation’s Programmes and Operations Manager, Rinora Gojani, marked that “Civil society has been very active in regional cooperation in the environmental domain, so we are happy to see such endeavors, as harmonizing our efforts for environmental protection, at this scale, will lay a strong foundation for regional stability and green economic recovery.”

In addition to representatives of the six Western Balkan countries, the meeting was attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and other statesmen of EU member states.

The initiatives endorsed in Sofia build on commitments previously taken by the region at the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Zagreb in May 2020. They will be supported by the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans adopted by the European Commission on 6 October 2020.