Joint press release: EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 30-31 October 2025) 13:20 Joint press release at the[...]

The Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs of Denmark, representing the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, together with the European Commission, represented by the European Commissioners for Home Affairs and for Justice, met on 30-31 October 2025 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, with their counterparts from the Western Balkans at the annual EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs. Representatives of the incoming Cypriot and Irish presidencies of the Council of the EU also attended. The meeting underscored the shared commitment and close partnership on Justice and Home Affairs.

In the margins of the Forum, on 30 October 2025, the European Union and the Western Balkan partners signed the new Joint Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism for the Western Balkans. Building on the achievements of the previous Joint Action Plan signed in 2018, the European Union and the Western Balkan partners reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen cooperation on counter terrorism and prevention and countering of violent extremism.

The following matters were discussed:

HOME AFFAIRS

The online dimension of security

The European Union and Western Balkan partners discussed how to further enhance cooperation on the online dimension of security, including countering radicalisation, terrorist financing, violent extremist and terrorist content, and drug trafficking. They acknowledged social media and online gaming platforms have become the main vector for radicalising and recruiting vulnerable young people. The participants emphasised that joint efforts will continue in the framework of the new Joint Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism for the Western Balkans, particularly with the cooperation of the EU Knowledge Hub on prevention of radicalisation and the support of agencies, inter alia, Europol and CEPOL, as well as with institutions and the civil society in the region. The participants highlighted that joint efforts will also continue on the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking, through the new cycle of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT). They stressed the need for effective cooperation with online platforms to refer illegal content and ensure lawful access to data, and welcomed the support of EU agencies in facilitating new opportunities for cooperation within the region and beyond.

Strengthening migration, asylum, and border management, and visa policy alignment

The European Union and Western Balkan partners welcomed the progress in implementing the EU Action Plan on the Western Balkans of December 2022. They reaffirmed their joint commitment to tackling irregular migration, by reinforcing border protection and fighting migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, including through strengthened cooperation between Frontex and Western Balkan partners, and in line with the Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling. The European Union underlined its continued political and financial support to the region in the area of migration, asylum and border management, and encouraged further steps towards aligning visa policies with the EU's, noting the proven impact of such alignment in reducing irregular border crossings. In addition, the EU and Western Balkans partners discussed the promotion of legal pathways in the Western Balkans, while preventing secondary movements and reinforcing other key areas of cooperation, such as returns and readmission.

JUSTICE

Strengthening the Rule of Law through judicial reform and the fight against organised corruption

The European Union and the Western Balkans discussed recent developments concerning judicial independence and ways to strengthen resilience through the protection from undue political interference and public pressure, and through judicial reforms. The European Union encouraged Western Balkan partners to address, monitor and sanction instances of pressure against magistrates and ensure the protection of persons and institutions concerned. They also discussed the judicial dimension of the fight against corruption and organised crime. The European Union encouraged Western Balkan partners to make full use of cooperation with relevant EU agencies and bodies, including Eurojust, to improve the exchange of relevant information and evidence, and presented new tools to monitor progress made and to support justice systems in tackling corruption and organised crime.

Democracy and fundamental rights

The European Union and the Western Balkans discussed the significant challenges facing democracies in Europe. The European Union outlined its measures to safeguard the fairness and integrity of elections and to strengthen democracy, including through the upcoming European Democracy Shield. It called upon the Western Balkans to continue electoral reforms in line with OSCE / ODIHR recommendations. Both sides acknowledged shared challenges in addressing racist and xenophobic hate offences, and discussed how to do so by means of criminal law. The Western Balkans were encouraged to step up efforts to address alignment gaps with the EU acquis and to ensure enforcement of fundamental rights in practice.