In the framework of the Greek EU Presidency and in view of the upcoming European elections, an EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Conference is being held in Thessaloniki on May 7-8.

The two sessions of the Conference titled "2004-2014: Ten Years of Enlargement and the European Integration of the Western Balkans," and "Beyond the Thessaloniki Agenda: Transport and Energy Connectivity," focuses on the European perspective of the Western Balkans and discusses the achievements and opportunities offered by regional fora in the energy and transport sectors.

Meanwhile, on the eve of the Conference, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos had a trilateral meeting with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin and Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean, followed by a joint statement.

The ministers said that they examined potential expansion of their trilateral cooperation in the public administration sector by developing communication and synergies on a trilateral level, exploiting emerging opportunities, and addressing common challenges in the fields of economy, commerce, trans-border cooperation, energy, tourism, regional infrastructure projects, transport, telecommunications, illegal migration and combating corruption, trans-border, organized crime, and trafficking of persons.