BRATISLAVA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The EU-Western Balkans summit due to take place in Sofia on May 17 should provide a plan for future development and further prospects for youth, which are so needful in the Western Balkans region, Bulgarian Ambassador to Slovakia Yordanka Chobanova announced after meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini on Monday.

"Specific development projects for the Western Balkans region will be discussed during the summit, primarily aimed at transport, digitisation and education. We see big support from large European countries here, and so we believe that we'll achieve a compromise in this field as well," said Chobanova.

Slovakia belongs to the clear supporters of the tighter integration of the Western Balkan to the EU, Pellegrini confirmed at the meeting.

Chobanova underlined the importance of cooperation between EU-member countries with partners from the Western Balkans and praised Slovakia's support in this regard.

"The summit will be a clear signal concerning the European prospects of the Western Balkans region. A joint European declaration should be signed at the end of the summit. We're opening new chapters in talks, and that's what matters. We're contributing towards development, as the Western Balkans is a part of Europe," stated Chobanova.

Bulgaria took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union as of Jan. 1, 2018.