Speech by President von der Leyen at the opening ceremony of the EU-Western Balkans Investment Forum

"Check against delivery"

Thank you, Prime Minister, dear Edi, for hosting this Forum here in Tirana.

Ladies and gentlemen,

One year ago, I came to Albania and to the entire region with a pledge. The pledge that the people and companies of the Western Balkans would start to experience the European Union in their daily lives. That you would feel the benefits of moving forward together. And one year on, this is exactly what is happening. Let me just give you one example. I remember very well, dear Edi, when you first told me that you wanted Albania to join the Single Euro Payments Area, SEPA. My services told me it would take a lot of work from you. A lot of determination to pass ambitious reforms. And possibly, a lot of time. But in less than two years, you have made it happen. And since last week, companies here in Albania can send money to the European Union and from the European Union at greatly reduced costs. And the same is happening in Montenegro and North Macedonia. Transaction fees in the Western Balkans used to be up to six times higher than in our Union. Joining SEPA will save your companies roughly 500 million EUR per year. This is real money on your balance sheets. Money that you can invest where it matters most. This is exactly what it means to experience the Union on the European continent in your daily lives. It is progress not just on paper but in practice. And thanks to the hard work of leaders like you, Edi and your Albanian people's perseverance, this change is happening here and now.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This example is proof of a simple fact. The Western Balkans are now firmly on their way to become part of the European Union. And we know what this means in economic terms. Because we have seen it happen before. All countries that have joined our Union have experienced incredible economic growth. Think about the last waves of accessions to our Union. Poland's economy has tripled in size in less than three decades. In Croatia, unemployment has dropped from 17% to 4% in just over a decade. The same will happen across the Western Balkans. And I am not talking of some distant future. Your economies are already set to grow rapidly in the coming years. We established the Western Balkans Growth Plan for exactly that. The EU opens sectors of its economy for your business. Together, we work on reforms for a level-playing field. And alongside reforms comes investment. Western Balkans Growth Plan aims at doubling regional GDP in the next decade. So my message to investors today is straightforward. Do not let this opportunity pass by. The time to invest in the Western Balkans is now.

And it is good to see so many of you here today - ready to grab the business opportunities created by closer integration. In a moment, you will be signing ten important business deals. Tomorrow, you will discuss 24 other potential investments. Together they could bring more than four billion euro in new investments in the region. This will be a massive boost for the entire region. Local companies will scale-up due to European investment. And companies from our Union will expand their operations in the region, creating local jobs and new opportunities across many value chains. And yet, what makes this Forum so special is not only the size of the investments we are announcing. With these projects, we are bringing the Western Balkans inside our Union's industrial policy. We are opening some of our core economic initiatives to you - for instance on artificial intelligence. And we are integrating your industries into the Single Market. Today we are sending a clear signal to the business sector. If you choose the Western Balkans, you choose Europe.

Let me give you three examples. On artificial intelligence, clean energy, and industrial supply chains. Let me start with AI. And let me tell you a story that started well before we could all access artificial intelligence on our smartphones. Ten years ago, Europe was trailing behind the rest of the world in the race for computational power. We had only one supercomputer in the global top ten. But then a whole continent mobilised. We made supercomputers a top priority of my first mandate. And today, we have four supercomputers in the global top ten. Why is this important? Because we are using these supercomputers to develop European AI solutions. We are setting up a network of AI Factories across Europe. These are places where our businesses and start-ups can develop, train, and deploy their next-generation AI models. And today, I can announce that we will open our AI Factories to the Western Balkans. We will start by setting up two Factory Antennas in North Macedonia and Serbia. And we are rolling out a high-speed digital backbone across the whole region. It will allow companies in all 6 partners to connect with these factories. This means that your companies will be able to access Europe's AI infrastructure right here in the region. In other words, the Union's computational power will be at your service. As I want the future of AI to be made in Europe, I want the Western Balkans at its core.

My second example has to do with clean energy. The development of high-class clean technologies is not only vital for our planet. It is vital for our competitiveness. Every business leader and every family in Europe remembers the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. You all remember the shock of receiving completely unaffordable electricity bills. Together, we have overcome the worst days of the crisis. Including through European support to your countries. But the bills are still too high. And we know what drives prices up: it is our dependency on imported fossil fuels. But we also know what brings prices down: We must produce more clean energy right here at home. Renewables are homegrown energy - so they give us independence. They are cheap energy - so they bring prices down. And they also create good jobs here in Europe. But on top of producing clean energy, we must also get better at storing and sharing it. Clean and cheap energy must be stored when it is abundant. And it must be able to flow freely where it is needed most. And this is where the Western Balkans' place in Europe becomes crucial. You are strategically located in our continent. Your countries can become hubs to produce, store and share clean energy with the rest of Europe. Today you are signing several investments that will do just that. From clean energy production in all six Western Balkan partners. To energy storage in Montenegro. They will bring the cost of electricity down. And they will also contribute to our collective energy independence. So let me be clear. You are building a new energy backbone not only for the Western Balkans. But for all of Europe.

Ladies and gentlemen,

My third and final point has to do with industrial value chains. Recent years have shown that no industry should rely on a single supplier for critical input. We all need to avoid bottlenecks. So it is vital to build more resilient supply chains. And whenever possible, this work should start right here in Europe. Many of the projects you are discussing at this Forum can fill critical gaps in Europe's industrial supply chains. For instance, battery production for the automotive industry. Active ingredients for the pharma industry. Textile recycling for the fashion industry. Animal feed for the agrifood industry. And the list goes on. These investments create jobs and added-value here in the region. But they also make the rest of Europe more resilient and competitive. It is in our mutual interest to integrate these strategic local industries in the European Single Market. So how can we make this happen? Under our Western Balkans Growth Plan, we are building a Single Market Highway. The goal is to bring local industries into continental supply chains. We will do this with regulatory integration, and with industrial alliances between companies in the region and in our Union. We will start with priority sectors - where you should feel the benefits of membership in our Union even before you join. All across the board, my point is the same. Investing in the Western Balkans means Investing in a future continental market of 500 million people. Your local projects have a European dimension, and a European customer base. So the business case is compelling. The return on investment is promising. For you, for the Western Balkans, and for all of Europe.

Ladies and gentlemen,

At every step that the Western Balkans take towards our Union, new opportunities will emerge. And you - the CEOs and investors in this room - have a central role to play. Your perspective is vital. Tell us what you need from us to unlock new projects. Tell us where you see the greatest potential for growth. Tell us where your priorities meet ours so we can move forward together. Because the trajectory of this region is clear. The future of the Western Balkans is within our Union. And it is up to all of us to make it happen.

Thank you so much for being here today. And long live Europe.