NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte joined European heads of state and government in Tirana for a meeting of the European Political Community, a forum built around shared security concerns across the continent.
On the sidelines, Rutte met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and held separate talks with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama that touched on the Western Balkans specifically. He also took part in a roundtable on European competitiveness, innovation and resilience, examining how technological development and stronger institutions feed back into security.
Russia's war in Ukraine remained a central thread throughout; Rutte called on Moscow to engage seriously with peace negotiations and welcomed signs that Kyiv was open to discussing a ceasefire.