Ursula von der Leyen starts her three-day Western Balkans tour today, without Serbia and Bosnia: Tirana is the first stop

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, today (September 30, 2026) started her three-day tour of the Western Balkans (September 30 – October 2, 2026). The first stop is Tirana, the second Pristina; on October 1 she will be in Podgorica, where she will meet President Jakov Milatović and Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, and then in Skopje.

Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are NOT on this tour because of the approaching elections: early parliamentary elections in Serbia on October 25 and general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 4. The European Commission’s spokeswoman, Ariana Podestà, announced in Brussels on September 18 that the President would visit these two countries later, on a second date.

This is the sixth consecutive year that von der Leyen has visited the region. The talks will focus on the partners’ next steps on the European path and on progress in gradual integration, as well as the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

Behind the scenes, asked whether the funeral of the convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić was the reason Serbia was avoided, the Commission spokeswoman repeated the elections explanation and recalled von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech: “there is no place in Europe for glorifying war criminals”. Vučić reacted earlier, saying they had found “an elegant way” to say it was because of the elections, and that “Ursula von der Leyen is a very wise and intelligent woman who has no illusions”.