Von der Leyen

"Strengthening the key external borders of the EU, with the Bulgarian-Turkish border being a priority." This is what European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a letter to European leaders, in which she lists measures to deal with illegal migration.

The chief of the European Union visited Croatia on Sunday to celebrate the "immense achievements" of the newest EU member nation, which switched to using the euro and joined the world's largest passport-free travel area on New Year's Day.

As of today, Croatia has become the 20th member of the Eurozone and the 27th member of the Schengen area. More than 70 border points with Slovenia and Hungary and 12 - along the sea border are being removed. On this occasion, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is expected in Zagreb.

Vui presented the president of the EC with a bouquet of flowers upon greeting her at the airport.
Serbian President and Von der Leyen then went to tour together the works on the construction of the Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector in the town of Jelanica.

It is expected that she will discuss energy, Serbia's alignment with the EU's foreign and security policy and the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina with Serbian officials.

According to her, the European Union has prepared a support package for the entire Western Balkans to help it deal with the energy crisis.

Von der Leyen will start the tour in Skopje on October 26, continue on October 27 in Pristina and Tirana, then on October 28 stay in Belgrade and Sarajevo and finally on October 29 in Podgorica, as part of the Balkan tour, it has been announced on the website of European Commission.

The European Commission has unveiled its latest proposals to rein in skyrocketing EU energy prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and Moscow's decision to cut off Europe's gas supply.

She said that the path to the EU is the path to a strong democracy, and that the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova are the future of the Union.
Von der Leyen, in her address to the European Parliament, said that the EU, when it comes to the foreign policy agenda, must invest in democracy.

Bled – Prime Minister Robert Golob and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen exchanged views on topical EU challenges, including the situation on the electricity market, as they met over working lunch on the sidelines of the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) on Monday.