UK ‘will not retreat’ from Western Balkans commitment, says May

Britain will “absolutely not” retreat from its security commitments in the Western Balkans after it quits the European Union, Theresa May has insisted.

The Prime Minister met German chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders from the region in London for the second day of a summit to discuss how to develop the area.

Mrs May said the UK had always had a “strong commitment” to the group of nations, including a role in securing peace during the conflicts of the 1990s.

She said: “I know that some have seen our decision to leave the European Union as a sign that we are retreating from this role. This is not the case.”

Mrs May announced a doubling of funding for the region from £41 million in 2018-19 to £80m in 202021 ahead of the fifth annual summit, which focused on issues including corruption, organised crime and economic stability.

The money will be targeted at regional “security challenges”, particularly those around organised crime and drug smuggling, which have an impact in turn on the UK, Downing Street said.

Others who attended included the leaders of the six Western Balkan nations – Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo – as well as the German Chancellor and Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Mrs May posed for photographs with Northern Macedonia president Zoran Zaev and his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras, who recently completed a deal to end a row over the former country’s name, which is also claimed by an area of Greece.

Theprimeministerhadbeen urged to help Macedonia join the European Union during a visit to Skopje in May.