The European Union would like to enlist the support of regions and cities to help Western Balkan countries in their preparations for membership of the European Union and in developing relationships with other countries in the EU's neighbourhood.

Council of Europe and EU advocate use of innovative democratic tools to help Mostar as court orders Bosnia-Herzegovina to enable elections in southern Bosnian city.

Members of CoR delegation back Albanian accession to EU, but stress need for sustained improvements.

The possibility that Serbia and Montenegro could join the European Union in 2025, a conditional target date proposed by the European Commission, should encourage municipal and regional reform across the Western Balkans, speakers said on 4 May during the leading annual conference focused on the local and regional dimension of EU accession. The European Commission and the presidency of the Council of the EU were among those who, during the Enlargement Day conference organised by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), emphasised that the success of the EU's next enlargement will heavily depend on cities and regions.