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German chancellor to attend Western Balkans summit with migration, anti-extremism on agenda

Associated Press
Published | Updated

European Neighborhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations commissioner Johannes Hahn and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, from left, talk during a press conference at the Western Balkans Summit at the Hofburg palace in Vienna, Austria, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) (The Associated Press)

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann , left, welcomes European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, for the start of the Western Balkans Summit at the Hofburg palace in Vienna, Austria, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) (The Associated Press)

European Neighborhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations commissioner Johannes Hahn addreses s the media during the Western Balkans Summit at the Hofburg palace in Vienna, Austria, Thursday, Aug 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) (The Associated Press)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is joining Western Balkan leaders for a summit focused on migration, anti-extremism and regional cooperation.

The meeting on Thursday will also be attended by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. Already in Vienna are the government heads of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, along with other government ministers from those EU-aspirant countries.

Many of the migrants entering the European Union use the so-called Balkan route, leading through Macedonia and Serbia into Hungary and then to Austria, Germany and other EU nations to the west.