Policy paper

Meeting of Western Balkans Foreign Ministers, Lancaster House, 13 December 2021: Chair's conclusions

Published 14 December 2021

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

The Foreign Secretary hosted a meeting of Western Balkans Six (WB6) Foreign Ministers on 13 December. EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak and US Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabriel Escobar also attended.

In light of the fragile security situation in the region, WB6 Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to work together, with international partners, to tackle shared security challenges. They:

• agreed to intensify their cooperation to overcome the legacy issues of the past, and to work together to support stability, prosperity and democracy in the region, in line with a commitment made by G7 Foreign Ministers

• reaffirmed commitments made in Joint Declarations at the London Summit in 2018, on Regional Cooperation and Good Neighbourly Relations, on War Crimes, and on Missing Persons in the territory of the former Yugoslavia; and committed to implementation of the Anti-Corruption Pledges, also made at the 2018 Summit

• agreed on a vision, shared with the UK, of a more prosperous, democratic region, more resilient to external threats, with improved capacity to address shared security challenges, including organised crime, corruption and terrorism

• committed to making progress on regional economic integration on the path towards achieving their Euro-Atlantic aspirations, and

• agreed to look to the future, and discussed ways to modernise and de-carbonise their economies in line with their climate commitments, and to increase opportunities in digital/tech, especially for the younger generation, as a way of helping to stem brain drain and boost economic growth

In turn, in line with interventions made by the Foreign Secretary at the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Riga, the OSCE Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Stockholm, and the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting chaired by the Foreign Secretary in Liverpool, the UK committed to:

• enhance its political and diplomatic activity to support regional stability, supported by £39 million of Conflict, Security and Stability Fund programming

• reinforce UK senior involvement in strengthening regional stability through the work of the Prime Minister’s newly appointed Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach. Sir Stuart will make an immediate start by travelling to Sarajevo on 14 to 16 December for meetings with leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina

• continue to invest in tackling organised crime and illicit financial flows, collaborating closely with the WB6 on enhancing defence capabilities, and countering hostile state activity

• promote open societies, conflict prevention and stability, and resolution of legacy issues including Missing Persons and War Crimes, including with programme funding

• support initiatives to protect the rights of survivors of sexual violence, seeking commitment from the WB6 to become signatories to the statement on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI)

• expand UK trade and investment with the WB6, building on existing support, on decarbonisation, energy transition, transfer of digital skills and entrepreneurship expertise

• support the infrastructure development of the Western Balkans, using UK Export Finance’s credit line and expanded footprint in the region to leverage the financial firepower of the City of London and the best of British infrastructure and innovation. To continue to support Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreements between the UK and WB6 countries