Slovenian President Borut Pahor said on Tuesday he received a letter from his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in which he accepted an invitation to participate in the Brdo-Brijuni Process summit.

The meeting of the leaders of the initiative’s member states was to have taken place last year, but was postponed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic. The date of the next summit has not been set as the pandemic is not over, although the epidemiological situation in Slovenia is improving.

Pahor said he planned to convene the event as soon as conditions allowed, likely in March or April. He said it could serve as an open and useful dialogue and deliver messages about EU enlargement, resolving bilateral relations between the countries in the region, and the joint commitment to peace, stability and prosperity in Southeast Europe.

The Brdo-Brijuni Process is a Slovenian-Croatian initiative which Pahor conceived in 2010, when he was prime minister, to boost trust and help Western Balkan countries on their European path.

It has become customary to invite the leader of an EU member state or institution as a guest.