BERLIN, October 16. /TASS/. Upon German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s arrival in Tirana at the 9th Berlin Process summit, the leader spoke in favor of fast-tracking into the European Union of the Western Balkan states - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, and unrecognized Kosovo.

The summit is being attended by leaders from the EU and regional countries.

"Twenty years after the accession of these countries was approved, we need to make sure that this happens," the German government press service cited him as saying.

"It is also important to me that we further intensify our efforts and make sure that Kosovo and Serbia get a boost from the EU," Scholz said. He noted that the EU took the recent deterioration in relations between Belgrade and Pristina "very seriously." The chancellor urged the authorities of Serbia and unrecognized Kosovo to take steps towards de-escalation.

Meanwhile, he said that other foreign policy topics would also be discussed in Tirana. Among them, he named the conflict in Ukraine and the escalating situation in the Middle East. From Scholz's point of view, the conflict in Ukraine, "as before, is a serious threat to Europe's security and peace architecture."

The Berlin Process, a vehicle for supporting the European integration of the Western Balkan states, was initiated in 2014 by Angela Merkel, who was Chancellor of Germany at the time.