On 9 October 2025, the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, welcomed the Foreign Ministers of the Western Balkans Six (WB6) - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia - and their counterparts from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany and Slovenia to Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland for the 2025 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Berlin Process. Representatives from France, Greece, Italy, Poland, the European Union, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) also participated in the meeting.
Plenary discussions focused on tackling illegal migration and other shared threats to European security, driving economic growth through closer regional and European integration, promoting gender equality and advancing peace and reconciliation in the region.
In recognition of the significance of Hillsborough Castle as a location for peace and reconciliation, Ministers heard valuable lessons from the Northern Ireland experience, with important contributions from the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly, Tánaiste Simon Harris of the Republic of Ireland, and UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP.
The Western Balkans Six and all Berlin Process partner governments reaffirmed their commitment to this important agenda by agreeing the Hillsborough Castle Declaration on Good Neighbourly Relations, broadening and deepening the agreements under Germany’s chairmanship in 2024 and the last UK chairmanship of the Berlin Process in 2018.
Among other important achievements of the meeting was a joint declaration by WB6 Foreign Ministers on the role of women in diplomacy, establishing a regional network to advance regional cooperation and demonstrate a shared commitment to gender equality as a fundamental pillar of modern, effective and inclusive diplomacy.
Further information on the meeting and its outcomes can be found here and in the full Chair’s Conclusions.